Transformers Victory Book 1: In the Beginning
by I'mjustkillingtime
Summary: The war between the autobots and decepticons is over, and peace reigns throughout the universe. However, hidden underneath is a horrible darkness that once again threatens to plunge the transformers into war once again. Witness the birth of a new legend as we follow the humble but adventurous Wing Dagger as he faces an evil long since forgotten in book #1 of the Victory Saga!
1. Journal Entry 1

_Data Log of Wing Dagger_

 _Location: Outpost Epsilon, Planet Rillick_

 _I've never really done anything like this before, and I find it a bit pointless, but Prowl insists that it is a necessary part of the Outpost Epsilon Training Academy experience. He's a real crankshaft like that. I mean, come on. Why should writing autopedia entries be a mandatory thing to do here? Planet Rillick is probably the most boring planet within known space, and having him for an instructor only adds to the humdrum drawl of the place. I'll be lucky if I can find a single thing to write about._

 _Oh, well, whatever. I guess I should start by writing about myself. It's not like anyone will be reading this, but it's all I got for now. My name is Wing Dagger. It's not the name I was born with, but it's the name I took when I joined the Autobots as a message courior. I was there at the tail end of the war, and I didn't really do any fighting. Not that I'm upset about that, though; I don't really like fighting. I'm not saying that I can't or won't, I just prefer not to. I didn't feel like I had anything to do with the war, anyway. I was forged on the galactic colony Reynart, where I lived with my parents Omnicron and Platina. I guess you could say I had a regular childhood. I made friends easy enough, I did ok in school, and I always seemed to have everything I needed. I thank my upbringing for that, but I will say that it was kinda boring. That's what got me to leave home in the first place. I wanted to find some sort of excitement, and, I'll admit it, I was curious about my heritage. So, I left for Cybertron where I got my first job._

 _Like I said, the war was just in its final stages, and Cybertron was slowly rebuilding itself from when Megatron had previously destroyed most of it. That's not to say that I didn't meet some of the big wigs. One of my regular customers was Wheeljack himself, the resident Autobot mad scientist and inventor. I would often bring him parts for his cockamamy inventions, and, if I had a little extra time, he would let me help him out with some of his bigger stuff. The more time we spent together, the more I got to know of the war through his optics. Strange thing is, it didn't really change my opinions of the war. True, Megatron was a monster and went well beyond too far, but I can't say that I blame him for being angry. My father Omnicron used to tell me stories about the ruling elite of old, and I can say with divine certainty that I'm not sorry to see that they're gone. Megatron was still a jerk though. Optimus Prime, on the other hand, is my biggest hero. In a way, he was kinda like me: a common mech with a common job. However, in the face of injustice, he found great strength and fought for the little guy. It's no surprise that both Autobots_ _ **and**_ _Decepticons respect him._

 _Within a few weeks of my living on Cybertron, we all finally got the news. Megatron had gotten fed up with the fighting, and thus he challenged Optimus to one final duel: one on one and no holds barred. It was such a big shindig that Swindle, a Decepticon con artist, was broadcasting it across the universe and having people pay to watch. I'll never forget how intense that fight was. Within the last few moments of the battle, both Optimus and Megatron had torn each other apart and destroyed one another's weapons. They had fallen back to the most primeval of weapons: their fists. Megatron, as a former miner and pitfighter, had the upper hand in terms of brute power, but Optimus was much smarter. Before we all knew it, Megatron had begun to tire, and Optimus seized his chance. He ducked under a swing from Megatron, punched him in the chest, and then ripped out his still fluxing spark. And then he said,_

 _"_ _You sought to rise into the light this day, Megatron, but instead you shall fall into darkness. I am sorry that it had to be this way…my brother."_

 _I'll never forget how Megatron just collapsed into the dirt, but that wasn't really the worst part. No, the worst part was the silence. From Cybertron, to Earth, and well beyond the known universe, all had fallen silent at the sight of the fallen and dead titan. Autobots, Decepticons, organics of many different shapes and sizes: no one knew how to react. Then, very slowly, the surrenders started to come in. One by one, Decepticons from all throughout the galaxy began to offer themselves over to the nearest of Autobots in the hopes of finding mercy. There were a few waifs and strays that fled and swore vengeance on Optimus, but they were never seen again. As for me, well, on that day…I changed._

 _When I first left for Cybertron what feels like an eternity ago, I had done so with great anxiety. Even within the Neutralist colony where I was forged, the threat of a Decepticon attack was well known and feared throughout the galaxy. However, now that Megatron, the horrible head of the serpent, had been cut off, I felt bolder; more adventurous, you might say. I realized that a door had just opened, and I wanted to jump head long through it and into the unknown. That's right! I wanted to become an explorer. Maybe it was a bit of an impulse, but I know what I want. So, when I heard Prowl was opening an academy that would teach me the fundaments of traveling through the universe, I signed up without a moment's hesitation…and boy was that a mistake._

 _This place is just so scrapping boooooring! Turns out that outpost Epsilon, located on planet Rillick, is a desert planet. A…_ _ **DESERT**_ _...planet! I mean, who in their right mind would intentionally set up an academy, never mind an entire outpost, on a scrapping desert planet?! I mean, sure, space explorers need to be used to extreme environments, but there's no reason we should be dealing with such conditions every single day we're out here. On top of that, there's Corporal Buzzkill himself that weakens the experience. Don't get me wrong, Prowl was one of the greatest Autobots to fight in the war. He was one of Optimus' right hand bots, and he earned his place. Still, the war is over, and he's training us like we're the next generation of stormtroopers. He's always ranting and raving about how there are still Decepticons around, and, while he's not necessarily wrong, it's pretty much a pointless topic. Megatron is gone, so there's no point to fight. Not to mention the fact that this wasn't what any of us signed up for._

 _Now, I'm no quitter, and I don't intend to start now. Maybe with a little time, Prowl will lighten up. After all, he did fight in that war for several million years. Maybe he just needs some time to cool off and accept that it's over. Therefore, I'm gonna look to the future close out this entry with my favorite motto._

 _"_ _LET'S SAY GO!"_


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Prowl groaned to himself as he made his way into the training yard of the outpost Epsilon. He seemed to be wearing his age more and more these days judging from the chipping black and white paint job, as well as the near unintelligible word POLICE that was printed on his wing-like doors. He also appeared to be a bit sand blasted, perhaps because of the terrible sandstorm from the night before. However, it was neither age nor was it the sand. No, it was simply time for roll call, something he had come to dread. So, there he was in the training yard walking in front of a string of young Autobots, staring down on his holographic notepad as he read off the names inscribed upon it.

"Shock?"

"Here!"

"Ore?"

"Present!"

"Gridlock?"

"Raring to go!"

"Livewire?"

"I'm pumped!"

"Padlock?"

Silence. Prowl took a deep breath, and he went to the next name.

"Quicksilver?

Silence. An uneasy shudder rippled through the group of young cybertronians as they watched their superior's hands begin to shake.

"Let me guess. Wing Dagger isn't here either, is he?"

The silence prevailed, and Prowl cut loose with an aggravated growl.

"For Primus' sake! Where are they this time?!"

…

"Can I just point out that this is a bad, stupid idea?! We're gonna get caught!"

"Don't be such a sparkling, Paddy."

"I'VE TOLD YOU NOT TO CALL ME THAT!"

Padlock was a green mech with a rising feeling that he should have his primary processor examined. He was a normally quiet autoboot, and his idea of fun was kicking back in his bunk and reading a good autopedia article. However, ever since he had come to planet Rillick, his quiet life had been shattered. He had come here strictly to become a communications officer, but instead he was being taught how to disable bombs and safe ways to drive over mines. Prowl proved to be a difficult task master, but he wasn't the worst thing he had to put up with here. It was, in truth, these two cross-wired idiots that had insisted on dragging him along to have some "fun".

The first was Quicksilver, a red and silver femme whom was probably the most book smart of the three. She had graduated with high honors from the Cybertronian Academy of Higher Learning, and she was always ready to learn something new. She loved learning about Cybertron's history in particular, and she would always become lost in her own little world whenever she found anything from primeval Cybertron. She was also an avid believer in the Path of Primus, a religious movement that decreed that all Cybertronians possessed a destiny handed down by Primus himself. Padlock often found himself at odds with her in that regard, but she was a decent person and someone he could get along with under normal circumstances. Unfortunately, such circumstances didn't exist when Wing Dagger was involved.

Standing out with a brilliant color scheme of red, white, and blue, Wing Dagger was a boisterous young mech with a nose for trouble. He was often the first to call Prowl out on his unorthodox training methods, and, quite often, he would skip out on class in favor of something more exciting. For some reason, he couldn't seem to do these things alone and would insist on dragging Padlock and Quicksilver along. It didn't help that Quicksilver was perfectly fine with this, and it was her that normally convinced Padlock to come along.

Thus, here they were among the sand dunes. Wing Dagger had brought with them three MARB, Mobile Autobot Repair Bay, rovers, and it appeared that he wanted the three of them to, as he said, "ski" down the sandy slope with the hover vehicles. As usual, Padlock was skeptical.

"Dag, court martial aside, can you imagine how much trouble we'll be in if something were to happen to these things. These are seriously the only MARBs the outpost has, and if we break them…"

"We won't break them." Wing Dagger assured him. "You have any idea how tough these things are? I once heard that Chief Medical Officer Ratchet used one of these things to chase after Grimlock of the Dino Bots through a swamp. A little sand won't hurt anything."

He peeked down over the slope, and a smile broke out on his faceplate.

"Ah, yeah! This is gonna be great! I'll bet they don't have ski slopes like this back on earth. Gridlock told me about them, and I knew I had to try it."

"Remind me to pour kerosene in his oil rations next time." Padlock grumbled. "Look, before we do anything crazy, I would just like to say…"

"Too late, Paddy!" Wing Dagger hollered. "LET'S SAY GO!"

With that, he went sailing down the slope at high speeds. Padlock could hear Quicksilver giggle beside him, and she jetted over the slope right after him. Padlock remained still for a long time, and a sinking feeling took hold of him in the pit of his spark.

"I must be out of my scrapping mind."

He took a deep breath, and then he went screaming down the hill at much greater speed than he had expected. He pulled back on the accelerator and switched on the break, but it did little to slow him down. By the time he reached the bottom, it was everything he could do to hold on to the hovercraft as gravity and inertia propelled him forward. It wasn't long before he was neck and neck with his two friends once again, and he momentarily forgot his fear when he heard Wing Dagger laugh.

"Ok! We've had our fun!" he shouted over the roar of the MARBs. "Let's stop and return to base before Prowl finds us out here."

"Don't be such a worry wart, Padlock!" Quicksilver called back. She was grinning broadly. "This is the most fun I've had since we got here. Come on! I'll race ya to that big rock in the distance!"

"Oh, you're on!" Wing Dagger chuckled.

Once again, they accelerated off, and they left Padlock in a cloud of dust. The two raced at intense speed across the desert plain, both laughing and shooting playful insults at one another. The further along they went, Quicksilver finally found her opening to take the lead. She swerved her MARB in front of Wing Dagger, and then she switched off the back stabilizers of her rover, letting it drag in the sand. This kicked up a wave of dust that showered into Wing Dagger's optics, prompting him to pull to a complete stop. When he could see again, she had already built a hefty lead, and there was no way he could catch up with the MARB now. However, this didn't bother him.

"So that's how she wants to play it." he chuckled. "Ok, then. Let's see how you like this! Transform!"  
He switched off his rover and then jumped into air. His T-cog whirred to life, and his body shifted and morphed into the form of a jet. With a roar of his engines, he blazed across the desert sand and quickly passed Quicksilver. Within moments, he had reached the finish line. He changed back into robot mode, and he leaned against the rock as his opponent pulled to a stop.

"Hey, no fair transforming!"

Wing Dagger chuckled. "Says the femme that sand blasted me. Besides, there's no rules and regulations out here."

At this time, Padlock pulled in next to the group, shutting down the MARB and sighing.

"You two satisfied now? I'm ready to get back and clean out the sand in my joints."

"Why rush?" Wing Dagger said as he relaxed his back against the rock. "We all know what Prowl's gonna say when we get back."

Quicksilver giggled, and then she struck an exaggerated pose.

"If you three trained as much as you slacked off," she said, trying to sound like Prowl, "then you would be able to beat Grimlock at arm-wrestling!"

She and Wing Dagger started laughing, and Padlock breathed a defeated sigh. Those two were hopeless. The three of them seated themselves in the shade of the large rock, and Wing Dagger started passing around some energon goodies he had swiped from the outpost commissary.

"Now this is more like it." he chuckled as he swallowed a goody. "Exploring a strange planet and hanging out with good friends: that's my idea of fun."

"Then why in blazes did you come here?" Padlock grumbled. "If all you want to do is explore, then why come to a training camp and just do it?"

Wing Dagger gave a mock gasp. "And deprive myself of your dry wit and wonderful sense of humor? Where's the fun in that?"

Padlock rolled his optics.

"But in all seriousness, I came here because I thought there would be classes on, well, I don't know. Survival training? Studies on different cultures? Visiting different planets? Not all this regimented stuff like early morning roll calls and target practice. Get this, Prowl has even been teaching me how to use a sword."

Padlock actually cocked his head at this. "Really? What for?"

"Scrap if I know. I guess it's because I'm a horrible shot. Seriously, I nearly shot Prowl three times last week." When he received looks from his friends, he quickly added, "It was an accident!"

"That aside," Padlock said, moving the conversation along, "I will admit you've got a point. I came here because there was promised a seminar by Blaster on communications. I've been here for three months, and he still hasn't shown."

"Why the interest in communications?" Quicksilver inquired.

"It's for my family." Padlock explained. "You see, due to several attacks by the Decepticons over the millennia, we all got split up and scattered throughout the universe. Now that the war is over and everyone is slowly finding their way back to cybertron, I'm hoping to find them through the many communication arrays we have set up around the galaxy."

Both Wing Dagger and Quicksilver adopted looks of pity, and the femme even went so far as to place a hand over the green mech's own. Wing Dagger followed suite by placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry, bud. You'll find them." His eyes brightened. "Tell ya what! Once I'm done with this place, the first thing I'm gonna do as an explorer is look for them. Free of charge."

Padlock looked up at him and smiled. "Ya mean it?"

Wing Dagger chuckled, and he flashed his friend a thumbs-up. "You've got my word of honor. Let's say go!"

Padlock looked to his two friends, and he released a deep sigh.

"Thanks, Dag. Really, it means a lot."

Wing Dagger grinned a broad and happy smile, and he whopped Padlock on the back. He then looked over to Quicksilver.

"I guess that brings us to you, QS. Why did you come here? There weren't any courses on history scheduled. At least, not that I noticed."

To Wing Dagger and Padlock's confusion, the normally bubbly femme averted her gaze bashfully, and she cracked a tiny grin.

"I don't know. It's…It's kinda silly."

Wing Dagger's brows shot up at this. "Oh, that did it! Now I gotta know what it is."

"But you'll laugh." Quicksilver whined.

"Nah, we won't!" Wing Dagger promised urgently. "Come one, tell us!"

Quicksilver squirmed nervously under the heat of the two mechs' curious stares. She took a deep breath, and then released it quickly.

"I WANT TO FIND THE KNIGHTS OF CYBERTRON!"

Silence. Both Padlock and Wing Dagger just stared at her, neither quite sure how to respond. After a moment, it was Padlock that spoke.

"Do you care to repeat that?"

Quicksilver sighed. "I'm not surprised that you two don't know. Much of ancient Cybertron's history was destroyed by the ruling elite of old in an attempt to maintain control. Fortunately, I and my brothers and sisters within the Path of Primus are resourceful. You see, according to my research, the Knights of Cybertrons were the ultimate failsafe for the original thirteen primes. Apparently, there was enormous war amongst the primes, and in the end Prima, the first prime and Primus' chosen, was the last one standing. He had also suffered severe injuries, and thus he knew his time was short. Therefore, he traveled to a planet far away from Cybertron with a group of his most trusted warriors, and, using the last of his spark energy, he created something called the Codex of Knighthood. According to lore, any cybertronian, be they worthy, could obtain the power of Prima himself. These brave few became known as the Knights of Cybertron. Their job was to govern the people, kinda acting like judges, lawyers and prosecutors. If a cybertronian was ever convicted of a terrible crime, they had the option to be taken before the knights for judgement. Since they didn't live on Cybertron, they were truly impartial, and the wisdom of Prima granted them the understanding they needed to pass fair sentences upon the accused. Also, they were peacekeepers. At times of great peril, they would descend upon Cybertron with unimaginable power. It was said that their strength could even rival that of the primes themselves."

Quicksilver suddenly cut herself short when she realized that Padlock was shaking his head and rolling his optics. She glared at him.

"You got something you want to say, Paddy?"

Padlock looked at her, and he fixed her with a steady gaze. "Don't take it the wrong way, Quicksilver, but I find this information to be kinda incredible."

"That's for sure."

"I don't mean in that way, Dag! I mean, sure, I'm no historian or archivist by any measure, but I was educated by Perceptor himself, and never once has anything like this come up in his lessons."

Quicksilver's glare deepened into a scowl. "Oh yeah! Well, did your precious Perceptor have this?!"

She lifted an arm, and a compartment opened, a cylindrically shaped object falling out. Quicksilver then took it in her hands, and she pulled on a section of the cylinder. It pulled apart into two pieces, and a hard-light hologram formed between the two halves, revealing a planet and a set of coordinates. Beneath the planet, there was a word, but neither of the two mechs could read it.

"Uh, what are we looking at, exactly?"

"This, Mr. Skeptic, is a true blue, honest to goodness map to Planet Victory, the homeworld of the Knights of Cybertron."

Wing Dagger's optics glowed brightly, and he pushed passed Padlock for a closer look.

"Sweet Primus!" he exclaimed excitedly. "You can't get any better proof than this!"

Quicksilver tossed a smug look towards Padlock, and he rolled his optics.

"I wouldn't quite say that, exactly." Padlock muttered stubbornly. "But say that this is an accurate map. Why in the name of the progenitors did you come here instead of turning it in to someone at Autobot high command? Even Perceptor would be somewhat interest at the prospect."

Quicksilver scoffed, snapping the map back into the compartment of her arm.

"As if! I do that, and he would just steal the credit like always."

Padlock flinched at that.

"Excuse me?"

Quicksilver looked away. "You should know better than anyone that those who follow the Path of Primus are looked down upon as lunatics and zealots. I show this to the higher ups, and they'll just take the glory for themselves and my brothers and sisters will just be pushed further into the dark. Well I think not! Primus deigned that it would be me that found this map, thus it is my path to find the Knights and discover why they disappeared in the first place, and all of the credit will go to my brothers and sisters in the Path of Primus covenant."

Padlock was stunned into silence, and for once he was without an answer. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to feel offended by that outburst, or to be impressed by the young femme's fortitude. In the end, it was Wing Dagger that broke the silence.

"So…what you're saying is you're looking for somebody that can take you to this planet, or, more likely, learn how to find it on your own without the higher-ups finding out about it?"

Quicksilver nodded.

"Well, that settles it!" Wing Dagger said as he bolted to his feet. "C'mon, let's go!"

They looked at him.

"Go? Wait! You mean right now?"

Wing Dagger nodded. "You betcha. We're not getting anything done here, so let's just go now and find the place."

Padlock looked like he was about to overload. "Are you kidding me? We can't just up and leave! On top of making Prowl even angrier than he probably already is at us, we don't even have a means of getting there. Unless you were planning on stealing one of the ships docked at the outpost."

Padlock suddenly slapped a hand over his mouth, but by then the damage had already been done. Wing Dagger's smile had become even wider, and his optics sparkled with devious thoughts.

"Hey, now there's some good thinking there, Paddy."

"No!" Padlock interjected pleadingly. "It's not! It's bad thinking! Bad! Bad! Bad!"

"Stealing a ship will be hard." Quicksilver mused openly. "Prowl's a stickler for protocol. We'll have to watch him carefully and look for any sort of opportunities we could take."  
"DON'T ENCOURAGE HIM!"

"Oh, don't blow a gasket, Paddy." Wing Dagger chuckled as he wound his arm around his shoulder. "This is gonna be fun. Besides, this'll be an awesome chance for you to find your folks. Think about it: you, me, and Quicksilver floating through the cosmos looking for family and adventure. It'll be great!"

Padlock just lowered his gaze, and he placed a hand over his face in defeat.

"Me and my big mouth."


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Planet Styx. Ask any spacer with even the most basic knowledge of the known galaxy, and they would all tell you the same thing; it is little more than an insignificant speck of dust several billion lightyears away from anything. To put it simply, it was a planet where people went when they didn't want to be found. Along with its remote distance from most civilized star systems, Planet Styx revolved around a dying star which promised to go nova at any moment. It was, in truth, a planet for those doomed to die, and that was the way the inhabitants liked it.

Perhaps the most notable members of this population of criminals, disgraced bounty hunters, and suicidal souls were the Decepticons. Indeed, the once formidable army of transforming robot lifeforms had been reduced to a miserable squall of misfits. Ever since the death of Megatron, these few waifs and strays had receded to as far away from Cybertron and its many colonies. Many of them had come here with intentions of revenge against the autobots on their minds. Others came out of fear of oppression from the Autobots. However, all in all and regardless of reasons for coming, the reason they stayed was all the same: they had given up. Indeed, the fire had truly gone out for the Decepticons, and few to none had the ambition to do much of anything. They just spent their days loitering around or fighting over energon cubes. As a matter of fact, and at that very moment, an all-out brawl had begun to ensue between a mob of cons.

Barricade and Brawl, two of the heaviest fighters of the fallen Decepticon cause, were rolling across the ground, an energon cube nestled between them. A massive crowd had gathered of the planet's inhabitants. A pair of quintessons were even taking bets on which of the two would win as Brawl kicked off Barricade. He picked up a piece of metal lying on the ground, and he hurled at Barricade. It smashed into the other's face and sent him sprawling onto the ground. Brawl reclaimed his weapon and straddled Barricade, where he proceeded to smash the piece of metal repeated against the beaten bot's body as the opposition fought hard to protect the precious cube. Brawl then raised the bar for one final blow, but he was suddenly knocked away when a purple energy bolt struck him in the back. Barricade, badly damaged, struggled to rise to a sitting position, but only to be knocked back down as a red and blue flyer planted a foot on his chest and claimed his energon cube, raising it high in the air.

"My fellow Decepticons!" declared Starscream, the former second in command of the Decepticons. "I looked upon this miserable sham of a scrap, and I swear to you that oil flooded my optics in dismay. Look what has become of us! I remember what it was like when we were the most feared army in the universe. With mutter a mere whisper of our name, all trembled in terror and cried out in a feeble attempt for mercy. But now look what has become of us. It is we that beg for mercy, and worst of all it is to the very opposition we were destined to crush! I ask you, my dear brothers, why? Why has this transpired? Why were we denied our rightful place as masters of Cybertron and forced to while away the remainder of our existences scrounging for energon? Fortunately, my dear Decepticons, I can sum up the answer in but one word: Megatron."

He stepped off Barricade, and he marched into the center of the gathering to be better seen.

"I know it is not sporting to speak ill of the dead, but I'm afraid that it is so. Yes, we were all swept away by his promises of equality and liberty for all Cybertron. Even I had become infatuated with his overexaggerated speeches and empty promises. However, I was also unsurprised on that day that his spark was ripped out of his body in such a barbaric manner. In fact, I found that quite comically ironic. While he spoke the words of a poet and politician, I think it is obvious to us all that he was still and would forever be a mindless miner and violent gladiator."

He chunked the energon cube behind himself, and he dusted off his hands.

"You have all been wronged, my fellow Decepticons. Sure, Megatron died, but I say that it is we who suffer worse than he. We have been exiled from our home and forced to make a meager existence is this accursed excuse planet. Well, I for one refuse to be reduced to a rusty heap with a pocket full of wasted dreams! I say we fight! YES, FIGHT! We earned our place at the table, dearest Decepticons, and I say that we boot those self-righteous Autobots out of our home and take our destinies in hand. Thus and henceforth, I, Starscream, shall ascend as supreme commander of the Decepticon forces, and, unlike Megatron, I shall lead through wisdom and intelligence and not mindless brute strength. So stand with me, my brethren! Stand with me as we claim our ultimate victory from the Autobots once and for all! For the glory of the Decepticons!"

As he drew to a close, and he looked to the large swarm of Decepticons that surrounded him, all but assured that they would rally to his side with a chorus of cheers and a chanting of his name. However, he instead could only hear the sounds of mocking laughter, followed by sounds of his so called "brethren" walking away in disgust.

"Hey!" he called after them. "Where are you going? There is still so much to do! I promise you, we will have victory!"

"Oh, give it a rest, Starscream."

The red and blue flyer whirled about, and he raised a laser. Seated on a porch of a rusted up old shack was a purple Cybertronian that had clearly seen better days. He was missing his entire lower portion, he was hooked up to a nucleon life-support system, and his entire right arm was just gone. The only thing that seemed relatively unscathed was his head, and his sole yellow eye glittered with pale amusement.

"Shockwave?!" Starscream sputtered. He walked over to the purple con, and he studied him over carefully. "By Unicron's beard, what happened to you? You look like something a domesticated Earth feline would drag into a human's living quarters."

"I would like to call it entropy." the former scientist stated. "Within a controlled environment, all things come to meet equilibrium, and that includes life and death. When Megatron ruled, I had numerous resources with which to maintain my body and continue my experiments in safe and stable environments. With said countermeasures now removed, you can see the result."

Starscream studied him for a long moment, and then he started bursting out laughing.

"Primus be praised! It must be my ignition day and nobody told me. It's nice to see how all that bumper kissing has backfired on you, my dear Shockwave."

"Yes, indeed." replied Shockwave cynically. "It is clear that I do not have much time left in this world. It is only logical." He looked up at Starscream. "However, I am content with my missing lower half, misplaced arm, and failing spark. I am pleased with my existence, unlike you."

Starscream suddenly went rigid, and he whirled an angry look upon Shockwave.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Oh, lie down and face the truth, Starscream." Shockwave said with a groan. "I saw the whole thing. That wasn't some rallying speech to an army. It was bad comedy, and the crowd agreed. You are not fit to be a leader, nor are you even capable as a warrior."

If looks could kill, Shockwave would have died a truly horrible and agonizing death. Starscream stormed over to him, and he looked him directly in his single eye.

"How dare you say such things about me?! I was handpicked by Megatron himself to be his lieutenant, and, on top of that, I was able to seize power from him on more than one occasion!"

Shockwave rolled his optic. "Yes, yes, I'm quite aware. However, there is a word for such instances. Two words, actually, and they are called _dumb_ and _luck_. Explicitly in that order. Even when you did take power away from Megatron, he all but immediately reclaimed it while humiliating and pummeling you."

"Don't remind me." Starscream muttered quietly under his breath. "So what? He still kept me as his second in command, even though he knew I plotted to overthrow him. Even if I was a traitor, Megatron knew he needed my cunning and superior intelligence to balance his simple mind and barbaric tendencies."

Again, Shockwave rolled his optic. "Primus, give me strength. Have you really not figured it out yet?"

Starscream paused, and he scrunched up his face in obvious confusion.

"Let me ask you this. Before the war, before you even knew the name Megatron, you were an explorer, right? As a matter of fact, you were the first explorer to discover energon resources outside of Cybertron's orbit?"

Starscream nodded.

"I would assume you were paid quite handsomely for this find, yes? You were also placed into a seat of grand prestige?"

Again, he nodded.

"Also, before his rise, Megatron was at the bottom of the ladder, a nameless miner before becoming a gladiator?"

"Is there a point here?" Starscream asked impatiently.

Shockwave shifted his body into a more comfortable position, his optic flickering unstably.

"Megatron began his regime for equality by expressly attacking the upper classes of the caste system, particularly the wealthy and the better off." He narrowed his gaze at Starscream. "Then, there you were, this big shot explorer that already had everything he ever could need. But, no, you wanted more. So you took a knee in front of Megatron, someone that should have been beneath you and otherwise unworthy of your time. Megatron knew this…and it made him chuckle."

Starscream felt a tremble coming from within his spark, and he took a few steps back.

"W-what are you trying to say?"

Shockwave coughed and placed a hand over his chest. "You were a joke, something to ease Megatron's tension whenever he was having an off day. You were not his most reliable soldier. No, you were an ornament. A symbol that only proved that Megatron was better than what the caste system had tried to force upon him."

He started to cough harshly, and then, to Starscream's shock, he started to laugh, perhaps for the first time ever.

"You know," he mustered through the coughs and giggles, "I was never one for emotions. I found them illogical and unnecessary, and thus did all I could to suppress them. However, since I am dying anyway, I figure they deserve their chance at court."

The giggles gave way to chortles, and then to full-fledged explosions of laughter.

"Now that I really look at it from Megatron's point of view, I can indeed see the humor of the situation, and it gets better the more I compare it with all your bloated speeches coupled with your botched attempts for power. HA HA HA! In truth, had you of chosen to side with the Autobots, or, better yet, just joined with a neutralist colony, you would still have your old fortune. Instead, here you are: alone, broke, and completely miserable. You, you are no master of Cybertron. You are not the leader of the Decepticons. You're not even the second in command! YOU…ARE…NOTHING!"

Shockwave's body suddenly began to spasm and shake, and through his chest Starscream could see the last of the former scientist's spark giving way. However, just before it was extinguished, Shockwave cut loose with one final laugh.

"HA…Ha…ha..."

Then, he grew quiet and still, and his purple paintjob became a dull, lifeless grey. Shockwave was dead.

"He died…laughing." Starsceam deadpanned, his hands shaking at his sides. "Laughing…at me!"

The red and blue flyer cut loose with a guttural cry, and he then proceeded to tear Shockwave's body apart, starting with the head and moving down. Once again, a crowd had gathered, but this time they watched with disbelief rather than pleasure. They looked on in silent horror as Starscream tossed bits and pieces of Shockwave in all directions before moving on to the nucleon life support, ripping it down to its base components as liquid nucleon spilled onto the ground. Not missing a beat, he whirled about on the crowd with a manic look on his face.

"YOU!" he snarled, pointing a finger at the amassed Decepticons. "You think so, too, don't you?! You also think I'm some big joke?!"

No one dared to say a word.

"WELL I'M NOT LAUGHING!" Starscream declared. "I'll show you! I'LL SHOW YOU ALL! I AM STARSCREAM, AND I WILL NOT BE REDUCED TO A LAUGHING STOCK! YOU WILL ALL TRULY SEE ME FOR THE LEADER AND MASTER OF CYBERTRON I WAS ALWAYS DESTINED TO BE! YOU'LL SEE! YOU'LL SEE!"

With that, he transformed into jet mode and took off into the sky, breaking through the planet's atmosphere and out into deep space. From below, the crowd watched him vanish from view. Amongst them was Swindle, the Decepticon arm's dealer and con man, whom nudged his former commanding officer, Onslaught.

"Fifty cubes of energon says that we never see that lunatic again."

Onslaught huffed. "I'll take your bet and raise ya fifty more."

…

Starscream was still fuming even after he had left charted space and entered the unknown. How dare he? How dare Shockwave die while laughing at him? It made Starscream regret not disintegrating him all those many chances he had over the years. He grunted. Not like it mattered now, he figured to himself. He would travel far beyond the borders of known space where he would build his own army. A magnificent armada of mighty and invincible warriors loyal solely to him. Then, he would return to Styx and rain down unholy vengeance upon them. Then he would gorge himself upon the pleas of mercy from his old allies, only he would not indulge them. No, he would just stand there and watch them suffer, and later he would dance on Megatron's grave just for spite. He cackled with glee; it would all be so perfect. He would set all of the planet Styx ablaze and fill the night air with the horrendous screams of those ungrateful, miserable…

 ** _KLANG!_**

Whatever Starscream's next thought was going to be, he was suddenly stopped short when he crashed into something. Shifting back into robot mode, he backed away and looked about. There was…nothing. It was just empty space in front of him, and there was no sign of the usual space debris-asteroids, garbage from the planet Junk, etc.-for him to crash into. He blinked in confusion, and a thought struck him, prompting him to switch on the infrared lenses in his optics. His hunch proved correct, because he could now see an entire starship, masterfully cloaked from view. It appeared to be stagnant, though there were obvious signs that the crew was alive, well, and still moving about. What surprised Starscream the most, however, was that the ship appeared to be Cybertronian. Albeit, very old Cybertronian. It appeared to be an elysian berserker class battlecruiser judging from the jutting nose on the prow, designed to crash into a ship and tear open the hull. It was a ship that would make even Megatron drool in ecstasy, and Starscream had to wipe his own mouth; he hated it when he drooled in zero gravity.

"A ship this old must have many wonderful secrets." he mulled to himself. "And no doubt it is just teaming with lost Cybertronians, all just hobbling around in the darkness looking for a guiding light." He chuckled. "Like me."

With his infrared still activated, he zoomed around the ship's exterior until he came across an airlock. Shifting back into jet mode, he locked onto the spot and fired two missles. He quickly flew in as the emergency blast door sealed the section of the wall, and then he switched back to robot mode. The hallway was quiet and empty, and there didn't appear to be any signs of life. Starscream straightened his posture, and he looked up and down the two possible directions.

"Hmmm, now let me think. If I recall my study on ancient Cybertronian war ships correctly, the bridge should be…that way!"

He started down the path, all the while fantasizing what the possible crew was. As old as the ship was, perhaps it was a lost cargo vessel with unimaginable amounts of primed energon. He shook his head. No, that was unlikely. This was a ship designed for warfare, not transport. With that in mind, maybe there were some old weapons aboard. They would clearly need some sprucing up, maybe even some updating, but, like Starscream always thought, a gun in the hand is better than no gun at all. It didn't help that he couldn't tell just how old the ship was. The berserker class had been decommissioned at some point during the first ruling elite's term fifty millennia prior to the one that started the war. Beyond that, most history had been erased thanks to the system trying to tighten the screws on the populace.

Suddenly, Starscream was pulled from his thoughts at the sound of a crash. He paused, and he noted that he could see light up ahead, as well as hear voices. He slowly edged his way towards the light, and he paused just at the threshold of the next room. Very carefully, he peaked inside. His optics nearly bugged out of his head when a massive, green, scaly leg crashed in front of him, forcing him to retreat back into the hall. He returned to his watching to his position, and his interest increased. The green, scaly thing was no doubt a tyrannosaurus rex from Earth's prehistoric era. Or, perhaps more accurately, an alien variant of sorts. What's more, a small Cybertronian was riding on its back, and there was more dinosaur like creatures lined up military style along a wall. Going from his memory of the dinobots, as well as what little information he had gathered on earth, he acknowledged each dino as a Pteranodon, an ankylosaur, a stegosaur, and a brontosaurus. However, Starscream couldn't help but feel like something was missing. Suddenly, there came the sound of heavy thudding, followed by somebody shouting.

"Hey, wait for me!"

The one on the T-rex groaned, and they all looked up to see a green, armor-plated triceratops came stomping into the room. However, he seemed to be have trouble stopping, and he then went rolling past the T-rex and crashed into the other dinos, knocking them over like bowling pins. Starscream had to flee back into the hall just to hide a tremendous burst of laughter. He made his way back to his listening position, and he watched the disaster to further unfold. The T-rex rider had dismounted his beast, and he was shaking his head furiously at his three-horned subordinate.

"Slog, for crying out loud! It's bad enough that you are late for the umpteenth time this week, but you also destroyed three hours of hard work. Do you how hard it is to get you brainless nincompoops lined up for roll call? I have to organize each and every one of you one by one in a line. A straight-line mind you, Slog. It's really, really hard work."

The triceratops, Slog by name, drew a mournful face, and he whimpered openly. "I'm sorry, Icepick."

This resulted in a small chorus of laughter from the group of other dinos. but Icepick merely groaned and rubbed the side of his head.

"Yes, Slog, I know you are sorry. You're always sorry. You've just got to learn to be more attentive. We can't keep doing this."

Slog did his best to hold back a sniffle, but the makings of tears were forming in his eyes. Again, Icepick groaned, and he placed a hand over his face.

"It's true what they say. There really isn't such a thing as good help in the universe."

"You got that right, buddy." Icepick grumbled.

The two wires that connected the sections of Icepick's brain suddenly connected, and it then occurred to him that someone was standing behind him. In one swift motion, Starscream seized a hold of Icepick, drawing a dagger and placing it to the shorter mech's throat. Out of the corner of his eye, Icepick could see that his mount had been incapacitated, and there was a tiny scorch mark on the side of its head. It was still alive, he knew he couldn't be that lucky, but it wouldn't be able to help him. As for the remaining dinos, the moved in to help, but Starscream gestured to the knife at Icepick's throat.

"Hold on! One false move, and your commander will suffer."

"He's right! Don't do anything stupid!" Icepick commanded. After a momentary pause, as well as a flash of realization, he quickly added, "On second thought, DON'T DO ANYTHING!"

The dinos remained still, but Slog continued to blubber helplessly as he stared at his poor commander. Satisfied, Starscream started to drag Icepick away and back down the hall. He wore a confident smile, and he chuckled aloud.

"This is far too easy!" he cackled with delight. "With a ship such as this, I was expecting a battalion of merciless killers and deviants. Instead, I am greeted by a mass of drooling simpletons playing with their pets."

"I can hear you, you know." Icepick grumbled. "Don't think for an instant you're gonna get away with this. You may have gotten the drop on me, but I'm nothing in comparison to our lord."

Starscream took an interest in this. "Lord? Am I to understand that this ship is captained by some form of royalty?"

Icepick nodded, very carefully.

"Excellent!" Starscream proclaimed. "Not only will I attain this ship and the lot of you as my slaves, but I will also attain a marvelous wealth with which to finance my new regime. How lovely!"

Icepick fell silent with a brow quirked. He had a feeling someone was going to regret being on this ship, and it wasn't going to be the captain. With his captive as his guide, Starscream made his way deeper and deeper into the ship. At last, they came to a stop in front of a massive door. Its archway was decoratively designed, and there was a mural of a tiger and a hawk printed on the door. Icepick placed a hand on a scanner, and the door slid open to reveal a lavishly decorated throne room. At the back of the room was a flight of stairs that clearly would have led to throne, but there didn't appear to be one up there. However, there was someone in the room. He was a young mech about Starscream's height with a teal colored paint job, and the armor plating around his head gave the illusion of a lion's mane. He looked up to see the two of them enter, though his reaction was rather lackluster for Starscream's taste. The fellow looked on with mild interest at best, and he didn't seem to look at Starscream directly.

"Friend of yours, Icepick?" he asked in an eve tone.

The shorter mech scowled.

"This isn't the time for jokes, Leozack! We're being invaded, and **I** have been captured by this rapscallion. You're the second in command! Do something!"

"Indeed!" Starscream cut in, using his free hand to aim his null ray blaster at Leozack. "And allow me to direct what you should do. I demand that I speak to this so-called lord of yours. I would like to discuss his terms of surrender."

The young mech, Leozack, seemed to grow more interested, and he even cracked a tiny smile.

"Oh, really? If I may be so bold, what is your name?"

Starscream put on a smug smile, and he puffed out his chest.

"I am Starscream, leader of the Decepticons and future master of the universe."

Leozack's smile grew steadily wider.

"Oh, well if that's the case, just one moment."

He walked over to a console off to the side of the room, and he entered in a few commands before a speaker rose up.

"My lord, we have a visitor. I think you might want to see what he has to say."

He took a step back and looked up to the stairs. Starscream did also, and his optics popped out of his head. At the top of the stairs, a throne began to ascend, and sitting upon it was a massive looking beast of a bot. He was a bright azure blue with golden accents, and his already incredible size was further accentuated by the massive blue and red wings that were folded behind his back. With one hand resting on his throne and holding a class containing liquid energon in the other, the massive figure leered down on them. He was studying Starscream in particular, or more truthfully the Decepticon insignias on his wings. Leozack cleared his throat.

"Presenting his most prestigious highness! The Emperor of Destruction! The Destroyer of a Thousand Worlds! A warrior so mighty that Death itself gave him its name! Lord Deathsaurus!"

A visible shudder rushed through Starscream, and he couldn't resist the urge to back away, releasing Icepick in the process. Catching himself and cursing his weakness, he marched back to the steps leading to Deathsaurus' throne, and he sneered up at his new foe.

"Those are quite the tidy titles you possess. I would be lying if I said that they didn't intimidate me." He spat on the floor. "But titles mean nothing if one cannot put actions behind them. Come down here, face me, and when I put you in your place all shall that you have shall be mine!"

Starscream jumped back and then struck a fighting pose with his null ray blasters to bare, and he waited for Deathsaurus to move. He waited…and he waited…and he waited. Deathsaurus merely sat on his throne, taking another sip of his liquid energon. Starscream looked up at him and scowled.

"Are you not paying attention, fool? I have challenged you to a duel! I demand that you acknowledge me!"

Deathsaurus took another sip of his drink, but he did not seem to have any ambition to fight. A few more moments passed, and at last Starscream's patience wore away.

"Alright! Let's see if you acknowledge this!"

He took careful aim with his null ray blaster and fired. A purple energy bolt went whizzing through the air, and it blasted Deathsaurus' glass cleanly. Both Leozack and Icepick immediately went running for the refuge of the hallway.

"Guy has a death wish." Icepick mumbled to his cohort.

Leozack could only nod in agreement.

From his perch, Deathsaurus looked down upon his hand, quietly noting the spilled energon leaking down his fingers and staining the chrome of his throne. He then looked back to Starscream, whom was grinning like a fool.

"Well now, "almighty" Deathsaurus. It appears I have spilled your drink. What do you say to that?"

Deathsaurus shifted in his seat, just slightly, and he narrowed his gaze towards Starscream.

"Tigertron, Airrazor: hunt."

Suddenly, Deathsaurus' chest piece suddenly flew off, and it split into two smaller transformers, one a tiger and the other a hawk. Before Starscream could react, they had tackled him to the floor, and the tiger proceeded to gnaw on his arm. He tried to angle the blaster on his other arm toward it, but the hawk swooped in and yanked it clean off. Starscream finally managed to pry off the tiger, but then the hawk swarmed his face, scratching and clawing with its razor-sharp talons. Then the tiger returned with a hard vengeance, crunching down on Starscream's legs until it tasted rocket fuel. Starscream quickly lost his balance and fell again, and the hawk moved down to his chest, tearing out metal as it began to burrow for his spark chamber. Suddenly, Deathsaurus whistled, and the two ceased. The scrambled away from Starscream's battered body, clambered up the stairs, and made their way into their master's waiting arms. With Tigertron at his heel and Airrazor perched on his shoulder, Deathsaurus began his descent down the stairs and towards Starscream. The flyer had rolled onto his stomach and was trying to crawl away, but Deathsaurus snatched him up and brought him to his face.

"You…are a fool."

His voice was like stone, cold and hard. It was absenting of the scratchy speech that Megatron was known for, but it still caused Starscream to shrivel up in fear just as his old leader had. But there was something difference about this time and then; Megatron wanted to keep Starscream alive, Deathsaurus didn't.

"You dare to sneak onto my ship, assault my soldiers, make bold declarations against me, and spill my energon. All of these are terrible crimes in and of itself aboard my ship, _the Thunder Arrow_ , but the gravest transgression you have dared to bring into my presence is this mockery of our crest!"

Starscream stared at him for a long moment, and it then occurred to him that Deathsaurus was looking at his wings; his Decepticon insignias, to be exact.

"You dare to profess yourself as the leader of the Decepticons. It offends us, we who were chosen of Megatronus himself, that you would prance about with his symbol and profess yourself his disciple."

Starscream was at a total loss for words. His first instinct was that he was talking about Megatron. That was the old gladiator's name before he became a politician. He then realized that the name didn't just belong to his former leader. Megatron himself had once stated that he had named himself after none other than the second in command of the original thirteen primes. Starscream himself wasn't much of a history buff, but he recalled that there had been a falling out amongst the primes, the result being that Megatronus was forever branded the first Decepticon. That is where Megatron had coined the name. It was now dawning on Starscream that he had stumbled upon a cult of some sort that seemed to honor Megatronus. While he may be looked down upon for sacrilege at this moment, his crafty mind had already devised a way to spin things in his favor. As Deathsaurus allowed him back onto the floor, he immediately fell to his face in a sign of surrender.

"Oh, great Deathsaurus, I plead your forgiveness. I fear there has been a grievous misunderstanding between us."

He looked up at Deathsaurus' face. He didn't appear to be buying it. Starscream rose to a kneeling position.

"Allow me, in your wisdom, to elaborate. You see, all powerful Deathsaurus, I am indeed a follower of the omnipotent Megatronus, and these branding on my wings are but an homage of my devotion to him."

Deathsaurus creased his brow just ever so slightly. It wasn't much, but it gave Starscream hope.

"As for that leader business, the truth is that I too have been trying to form an army suitable enough to carry out the great Megatronus' will." He offered an embarrassed. "Unfortunately, little to few would ever listen to me. When I found your ship, I was just overcoming my rage from being ousted from my homeworld because of my beliefs. For my actions, of which I had no justification, I apologize most profusely."

He chanced another look, and he was overjoyed to see that he now had Deathsaurus' full attention, and he appeared to be curious.

"Why is it you were ousted? Who opposed the will of Megatronus?"

Starscream had to lock up his joints to keep himself from leaping up and down with joy. He now had the fool hook, line, and sinker, and he was going to live to see another day. Now it was just a matter of giving him a new target to sink his teeth into.

"They are called Autobots, my lord. They are opposed to any that follow the will of Megatronus, and they hoard their energon and leave us to fend for ourselves. What's more, they are led by a false leader. An overconfident fool who calls himself Optimus Prime."

Starscream couldn't help but grin with he saw a harsh sneer beginning to form on his faceplate. He stepped past Starscream, and he looked to address his subordinates.

"Leozack, you are to begin immediately scouting this quadrant of the galaxy for these so called Autobots. I wish to find this Optimus Prime and chastise him for his arrogance."

"Consider it done!" the young mech declared before running off.

Deathsaurus then turned his attention to Icepick. "As for you, return to your men and prepare them for battle. You will be the first to fight and test these Autobots. If they are indeed formidable, we will contact home base for the rest of our forces."

Icepick nodded, albeit a bit begrudgingly, and he stormed off down the hallway. This left Starscream and Deathsaurus alone. Starscream took in a deep breath and sighed, enjoying the silence.

"You are quite efficient with your troops, lord Deathsaurus." he said. "I am interested in these other troops of yours, and I do hope that I will get the chance to meet them as our partnership…"

"Partnership?" Deathsaurus said, cutting him off. "I'm afraid, Starscream, that you have made another error."

Starscream froze. "What do you mean?"

Deathsaurus turned back about to face him, and he fixed the red and blue flyer with a severe look.

"I do not believe this tripe about you being a follower of Megatronus for a nanosecond. What's more, this whole story about these Autobots could very well of been a ploy just to prevent me from destroying you. So, here is what you have to expect. You shall live and serve upon this vessel for the remainder of your existence, which shall easily be cut short should your usefulness ever come to an end."

He started walking back towards his throne, but as he walked past Starscream, he whispered, "Welcome to the Decepticons. You may never leave alive."

With that, he returned to his throne, and he descended back down from whence he came. Once again, Starscream was alone. Alone with nothing but his thoughts on how terrible things had become for him, as well as the faint, distant echoes of Shockwave's laughter still ringing in his audio receptors.

 **Small note from the author:**

 **For those that are curious, the names I chose for the Dinoforce I found on the Tranformers wiki sight. I didn't make them up, so please no flames. Also, please be sure to leave a comment and tell me how I am doing.**


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 4

To say that Prowl was angry when his three students had returned was a grave understatement. Not only did he force them to clean all three MARB rovers inside and out, with toothbrushes special ordered from earth of all things, but they were all slighted to clean the dormitories, or barracks as Prowl tended to call them, for the next four months. Wing Dagger had tried to convince the salty old veteran that he was the only one deserving of blame, but Prowl had learned a long time ago to mute out most of the young bot's excuses. So there they were, Wing Dagger, Padlock, and Quicksilver, all mopping and moping as they cleaned down the recharging quarters.

"Now I regret putting that kerosene in Gridlock's oil." mumbled Padlock as he scrubbed down a particularly messy recharge slab. "I mean, who knew that he leaked during recharge? I thought that only happened during the first few cycles after one's ignition day."

"He doesn't really like to talk about it." Wing Dagger said from the other side of the slab. "I hear he can only drink specially blended oil. Strangely, the fossil fuels of earth don't affect him that badly. I think that's why he wants to join the Earth Defense Force. The health benefits would be perfect for him."

"Well it's certainly not doing us any favors." Padlock mumbled.

Quicksilver zipped through the area with a mop with lightning speed. Of the three of them, she seemed to be the only one enjoying herself. As she skidded to a stop, she paused for a moment to admire her work.

"This takes me back to my childhood." she said with a dreamy look. "Back when I used to live in the abbey, I would clean up the meeting hall with my sisters, and we always raced to see who could get their part done the quickest. I was always the champ, you know."

"Riveting." Padlock grumbled under his breath. He bent down to dunk his cleaning tool in more cleansing fluid, but he stopped short at the sight of how black the liquid had become.

"I swear, I'm gonna knock Gridlock out for this! We're gonna be spending all week on this one recharge slab."

He got up, gathered up his bucket, and then started his way for the door.

"Be back in a bit, guys. I need to get more cleaning fluid."

He opened the door and started out. Suddenly, he slammed into something, followed by the sound of a loud splash. Padlock stumbled backwards, and he gagged. The obstruction he had ran into was Ore, one of the two monoformer twins. Ore was a bit light on brains, but he was big on muscle, in spite of his smaller than average size. What's more, both he and Shock were well known for their sharp bursts of anger, and neither one was ever far from the other. Before he could even attempt to explain himself, Ore snatched him up and then yanked him into the hall, slamming the door behind him. Wing Dagger and Quicksilver exchanged horrified glances, and then they bolted for the door after their friend.

Ore slammed Padlock hard into a wall. True to form, Shock was right there with him, and neither one looked particularly happy.

"My brother here says that you's splashed him with some disgusting substance of the soiled cleaning kind."

Padlock couldn't, in spite of himself, resist an eyeroll. Shock was a total blowhard, and he always tried to speak with a forced accent to make himself sound tough. In truth, it never worked.

"Look, Shock," he said, his tone calm and even. "As I was trying to tell Ore…"

"Oh, you's was trying to explain something!" Shock interjected, cutting Padlock off. "You's hear that, Ore? Dis here _trans_ former thinks he has to explain things to you. He thinks you's ain't smart enough to understand."

Ore snarled as he tightened his grip on Padlock. Padlock gulped.

"Now, take it easy, you two!" he said quickly. "I know you're a bit sensitive about being monoformers and all, but…"

"Oh ho ho! So that's it!" Shock snapped while pointing an accusing finger at Padlock. "You's think you's is better than us! Oh, everybody look at the great and wonderful Padlock! He can transform into a truck, but me and mine poor brother are stuck as dull, boring robots!"

Padlock shriveled up on his spot on the wall, and he gulped. He had a strong feeling that nothing he said at this point was going to save him. Ore tossed him aside and onto the floor, and then he took his place next to his brother.

"You's think you's is so special, don'cha?" Shock said with a sneer. "Well mine and mine brother don' think you's is all that. In fact, I think that we's should teach you's a thing or two about us monoformers. Specifically, we are stronger together!"

Padlock could only watch with mounting terror as the two brothers combined into one giant form, easily towering over him with fists big enough to tear a hole through his chest.

"Who was the idiot that told these guys about the enigma of combination?" Padlock groaned.

Without another moment's hesitation, Padlock shifted into vehicle mode and started to burn rubber down the hall. OreShock, as the combined duo was usually called, bellowed with a mad cry, and he then went stomping down the hall after his prey. Padlock didn't have a clue where he was going, but at this point he didn't care. He knew that the instant he stopped, OreShock would be on him like the dinobots on cesium salami. He made a pass through the armory, the firing range, the training yard, and he was now coming upon the mess hall. He smashed through the door and past a confused Gridlock, whom dropped a freshly poured tankard of oil.

"You'll thank me for that later!" Padlock called back to him.

OreShock then smashed into the room, knocking Gridlock a winding. He continued to chase Padlock around the mess hall, knocking aside tables and energon cubes in all directions. Padlock then swerved around another table, putting on an extra burst of speed in the hopes of finally breaking free. Unfortunately, his hopes were dashed when he struck Gridlock's spilled oil. He lost traction, and he then went sailing through the air before crashing into a wall. He transformed back into robot mode and slowly rose back to feet. This provided enough of an opening for Oreshock to close the gap and grab Padlock by the chest plate. Padlock struggled and thrashed and he did everything he could think of to escape, but OreShock's grip remained strong.

"Come on, guys!" he grunted feebly. "Can't we just talk this over like civilized cybertronians?"

OreShock raised one mighty fist, and he lined it up directly with Padlock's face.

"Yeah, that's what I thought."

Padlock switched off his optics, and he braced himself for what was sure to be a major world of hurt.

"Hey, glitch-head!"

Padlock's optics switched back on, and then he could see Wing Dagger-nice, friendly, never hurt a fly Wing Dagger-punching OreShock in the face as hard as he could. There came the sound of a crunch, and Wing Dagger backed away while clutching his hand.

"Ow! Ow! OW OW OW! Man, that stung!"

OreShock stared at him with an incredulous look, and then he snarled. He released Padlock, and he turned his full attention towards Wing Dagger. The red, white, and blue mech chuckled nervously.

"Wow, you look angry. You know, I find counting to ten to be a wonderful tactic when it comes to conquering anger."

OreShock snatched him up, and he pulled him close his face.

"Though I have heard from others that violence is a good stress reliever. Maybe we could go to the training yard and…"

OreShock roared, and then he raised Wing Dagger over his head.

"Or, you know, maybe not!"

With that, Wing Dagger went sailing through the air before crashing into a table. Its occupants scattered in all directions, but Wind Dagger himself before OreShock was upon him again. He grabbed Wing Dagger by a leg, and then he whipped him about, smashing him repeatedly into the ground before leaving him in a heap. OreShock then grabbed a nearby table, and he raised it over his head with the intent of finishing Wing Dagger off. Padlock scrambled to get back to his feet, and he tried to transform, only to be met with a sickening clunking sound. But he didn't care. He had to get over there. He had to help Dag.

Suddenly, there was a loud bang, and then the room fell deathly silent. All optics were on OreShock. The combiner slowly lowered the table, and he could see that a smoking hole now filled the center. From his spot on the floor, Wing Dagger did his best to look behind the large brute, and what he saw amazed him. Bright red with blue accents, smoke stacks positioned on his shoulders, a fierce gaze, and a really, really, big gun. There was no denying it, and yet it was too spectacular to believe. Wing Dagger just couldn't contain himself.

"OPTIMUS PRIME!"

Indeed, it was him! The mighty leader of the autoboots, with his signature blaster rifle clutched tightly in his outstretched fist, stood gallantly in the archway of the south commissary entrance. OreShock stood there wearing a stunned expression, and then they broke down back into their usual selves.

"Don' say nothin." Shock whispered to Ore. "You's just let me do all the talking."

Optimus Prime lowered his weapon and put it away, and then he started to stomp his way over to the two monoformers. He stopped just when he was a few feet away from Ore. The smaller transformer had to tilt his head far back to better see Optimus' face. The autobot leader leered down on him with his piercing blue optics, and he folded his arms across his chest.

"Explain."

It was one word. One simple, insignificant word. But it had the force of a black hole behind it, and it pulled Ore deeper into Optimus' eyes, as well as increased the pressure forming in his spark chamber.

"Well, you's see, sir," he began, his voice holding a tiny squeak. "Mine brother and I was merely perusing the hall all peaceful like. Then, from out of nowhere, this green know-it-all comes up and splashes my poor brother with the foul-smelling liquid you can still detect, unprovoked. We's was just getting back at him, is all, and then dis yutz decides to punch us in our respective face."

Optimus studied the two monoformers, and then he looked at Wing Dagger on the floor.

"Is this true?"

Wing Dagger grunted as he rose to a sitting position.

"Yes sir, it is." he said. "I did punch him in the face. Darn near broke my hand, too. But Padlock didn't splash Ore on purpose. He, our friend Quicksilver, and I were all cleaning the barracks, and Padlock was leaving to get more cleaning fluid. Ore was just walking into the room as Padlock was walking out."

Optimus hummed thoughtfully, and he looked back at Shock, whom was starting to look very humble.

"If that's the case," Optimus began, "then it seems to me that the two of you were jumping to conclusions."

Shock opened his mouth to say something, anything, in his defense, but nothing came out.

"Judging from your builds, I can tell that you are monoformers, yes?"

Both Ore and Shock nodded.

"I see. I'm aware that there is much scrutiny placed upon your kind. However, that does not permit you to bully your fellow cybertronians just because you feel insecure about yourselves. Violence only yields violence, young ones. You should both be ashamed of yourselves."

Shock seemed to shrivel up under Optimus' gaze, and Ore mumbled something akin to an apology.

"Now then," Optimus went on, "given that the two of you are responsible for this mess, I think it is only fair that you both are the ones to clean it up? Any arguments?"

Both Ore and Shock shook their heads.

"Good. On your way, then."

Ore and Shock turned about, muttered quick apologies to Wing Dagger and Padlock, and then they made their way out the door just as Quicksilver finally caught up. She had split up from Wing Dagger to grab Prowl, and they both gasped at the sight of the ruined commissary. Prowl's optics brightened to a blinding shade of Blue, and his usual stiff and mannerly posture had been replaced by a nervous twitching in his hands and wing-like doors. Already he was thinking over the possible suspects responsible for this unforgivable blemish upon his academy, as well as plotting out the necessary punishment, but he quickly tabled his rage when he spied Optimus helping a battered looking Wing Dagger to his feet. Ignoring Quicksilver who ran over to help Padlock, Prowl made his way over to his former commanding officer, offering a salute.

"Optimus, what an unexpected surprise. I knew that you would be coming down for an inspection, but I wasn't expecting you for another week." He tossed a quick glance around the destroyed commissary. "I am deeply sorry for the mess. I promise you that I'll find the ones responsible and…"

"That will not be necessary, old friend." Optimus cut in. "The situation has already been dealt with. The one's responsible were a pair of monoformers that allowed their tempers to get the better of them. Rung is waiting for me back at my ship. Maybe he can have a quick session with them before we have to leave."

He placed a hand on Wing Dagger's shoulder.

"In the meantime, this young lad and his friend over there could use some medical attention. If you have no objections, I would like to send them down to the medical ward. Ratchet is already down there restocking medical supplies."

Prowl shrugged.

"It's no skin off my nose. Quicksilver knows the way."

Optimus nodded, and then he looked to Wing Dagger, checking him over one last time.

"Are you able to get along on your own?"

Wing Dagger looked absolutely awestruck. Of all the cybertronians that have ever lived, Optimus Prime was his biggest hero. Simply meeting him, never mind being saved by him, was pretty much his biggest dream come true. Words were useless at this point, and so he nodded a weak nod. It was good enough for Optimus, and he let him on his way. Prowl watched as Quicksilver took him and Padlock onto her shoulders, and the three of them started off out the door.

"Thick as thieves, those three." Prowl said. "I'm not surprised that they were in the center of this cyclone of madness." He looked to Optimus. "What say we take this business to my office? It'll be a lot…cleaner there."

Optimus nodded his consent, and he started to follow after Prowl.

…

Prowl wasn't kidding when he said that his office was clean. It was reminiscent to an executive office one would find in an earth business. It had the standard desk in the center of the room, a file cabinet placed in the back corner of the room, a book shelf containing several different autopedia files on law enforcement and the art of warfare, and, for a finishing touch, a small, potted birch tree he had gotten from earth. Optimus wasn't quite sure how it was able to survive in such an arid climate, but he knew Prowl well enough to know that it had plenty of chances.

On one wall, Optimus spied the many medals and awards Prowl had earned during his many centuries of service, and in the middle of the wall was a picture of all of them. Optimus, Prowl, Ratchet, Bumblebee, Cliffjumper, Wheeljack, the dinobots: they were all there in their crashed spaceship in the base of that old volcano. Optimus couldn't help but feel a little nostalgic. Of all the darkest hours the war had produced, Earth had provided many of the brightest and wonderful moments in all of their lives. Meeting the Spike and his family, forming an alliance with Earth, and ultimately putting an end to their war once and for all: just to name a few.

Prowl wheeled around his desk, and then he took a seat. He pressed one of the buttons that lined the tabletop, and a seat rose up from the floor in front of the desk.

"Have a seat, Prime, and let's chat."

Optimus did so. Prowl was smiling broadly, and he pressed another button, a cask of liquid energon and a couple of glasses rising from the top of the desk.

"I think you're gonna love what we've got going here." Prowl said as he poured Optimus a glass. "This energon, we found it right here, and it's one of the purest sources I've ever seen. I contacted Wreck-Gar last week, and a group of his Junkions will be coming down to survey the land. Plus, there's some bright stars around here in the academy. I see a lot of potential from these students, and it fills me with hope for the future of the autobots."

Optimus accepted his glass, and he stared down at it for a long moment. Prowl studied him carefully, and he noticed that the big bot was lost deep in thought. After well over forty million years of service under him, Prowl could tell that the Prime was carrying a burden of bad news. It unnerved him a bit.

A moment or so of pondering later, Optimus placed his glass back onto the desk, and he sighed.

"Prowl, I need to be honest with you. I didn't come here as a social visit, nor did I come here to hear about the possible assets this outpost could provide."

Prowl frowned. "What do you mean? Why else would you come?"

Optimus drummed his fingers on the desktop nervously, and he took a deep breath.

"I'm afraid we've received…complaints concerning this academy."

Prowl's eyes narrowed dangerously, and he leaned forward as he fixed Optimus with hard stare.

"What do you mean?"

Optimus placed his hands onto the desk's top, and he stood up to his full height. He then lowered his gaze just enough so that he and Prowl were looking directly into one another's optics.

"I make it my personal duty to oversee the reports from those that attend these facilities, and that includes when they have complaints about their academics. Within the last few months, I've been receiving reports about mild to severe injuries being inflicted upon your students. I didn't want to jump to any conclusions, but I decided to move up my time table and come for an early visit. Now, tell me, just what exactly have you been teaching here?"

If Prowl was nervous, or even angry, he did not give anything away. He remained permanently stone-faced, and he folded his hands over his mouth, looking thoughtful.

"Basic combat." he said pointedly. "You know as well as I do, Prime, that it's dangerous out there: quintessons, shadow parasites, rogue humans, laser beasts, etc. I'm just being sure that they're more than capable of dealing with what's to come. Frankly, I think some spilled energon, and perhaps the occasional severed limb, is a small price to pay when considering the long run."

From the look on Prime's face, it became apparent to Prowl that he didn't approve.

"Ok, I'll admit that maybe I'm going a bit hard on them." he admitted. "But you gotta believe me, Prime. I'm doing what's best for them."

Optimus offered him an understanding nod.

"I believe you, Prowl. Honest, I do, but you have to understand that these are just younglings. Not soldiers."

Prowl face welled up into a sneer, and he placed his palms onto the desk.

"Oh, so that's what this is really about, is it?"

Optimus jumped back like he had been bitten, but his optics glinted dangerously at Prowl.

"Now hold on there, Prowl! I came here purely as your friend with a genuine concern. I did **NOT** come all this way just to open up old wounds and make them fester. This is not the time."

"I think it is." Prowl rumbled matter-of-factly. "You wanted to talk about my shortcomings, then let's talk about yours. Namely, the Decepticons."

Optimus visibly shook with mounting rage, and he had to take several deep breaths before he felt he was able to speak again.

"I understand that you didn't approve of my policies." he said.

"That's putting it mildly!" Prowl snapped. "Prison camps, taking out their T-cogs, mandatory therapy sessions: **ARE YOU KIDDING ME**? What you should have done was marched them all into the smelting pits of Kaon, and that's still more merciful than what those mindless monsters actually deserved!"

"Your outrage is understandable." Optimus said in a failing attempt to keep his friend calm. "But this is what the council all agreed upon. After Megatron's death, the consensus of the Decepticon forces surrendered peacefully. Having already soiled my hands with Megatron's energon, I felt that there was no need for further violence, and the council elected agreed. Minus you, of course. With Megatron gone, there is no one left to lead them."

"How can you be so sure?!" Prowl retorted. "There have been others that were more than capable of leading the Decepticon cause. I have made a detailed list of all cons that have gone into hiding that could fit this mold: Shockwave, Soundwave, Bludgeon, Overlord, Tarn, even slagging Starscream could be a potential rabble rouser if he could get the steam up!"

"I'm all too aware of this." Optimus insisted. "However, all of whom you have mentioned are the unaccounted for Decepticons. Those that have surrendered are under constant surveillance, and we have made certain that they are completely incapable of causing harm. It is my hope that, with time and a little patience, perhaps we can work the Decepticons back into society, and we can finally put the war behind us."

If it were even possible, Prowl's scowl deepened even further.

"I've gotta say this, Optimus. I have always been supportive of you throughout the years, but sometimes that 'I gotta save everyone' attitude of yours really grinds my gears. This Second Golden Age you keep shoveling down bots' windpipes, as well as this peace and happiness scrap, it's not gonna happen. There will never be peace on Cybertron, not until every last slagging con is wiped off the face of the universe!"

Prowl wasn't aware that he had gone around his desk, but now he was standing face plate to face plate with Optimus. He may have been shorter than the Prime by comparison, but his tone carried an authority that equaled, if not rivaled, the Autobot leader's. They remained locked in still battle for a long moment of minutes, neither side backing down as the full fury of their convictions seemed to fill the space. At last, it was Optimus whom broke the lock, and he turned his back to Prowl.

"I'll be staying for a couple of days to get a better idea of this outpost's position." he said simply. "During that time, I would appreciate it if you didn't bring this up again. You students have more to worry about than a war that is over. On that, I'm sure we both can agree."

Prowl didn't offer anything as a reply, opting to just glare at Optimus' back. Without another word, Optimus made his way out the door, and he disappeared into the hall. Prowl moved back behind his desk and returned to his drink. He took a sip, but he found it to have a bit of a bitter taste. He looked over to the wall with all his trophies, particularly the photo held in the center. He sighed, and he set down his glass.

"I'll say this about the war." he mused to himself. "Back then, everything didn't feel so complicated."


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

There was no longer any doubt within Starscream's mind that he truly led a cursed life. For the last three days, he lived in absolute misery as he did everything and anything that toppled out of Deathsaurus' head. He had already become quite acquainted with the ship's engine room, the mess hall, the barracks, and, worst of all, the stables. These pens were where the dino themed warriors' organic shells went to rest. That was perhaps the most interesting fact of all; the Dinorforce, as he had heard them call themselves, were transorganics, but they were different from the kind that Starscream was familiar with. The creatures were equipped with special harnesses and neuro-connectors so that, whenever their riders linked up, the beasts and the cybertronians were one in mind and body. While this was an interesting topic, it didn't change the fact that, when separated from their robotic counterparts, these creatures were disgusting! Whatever this slop they were feeding them was turned out to be just as disgusting coming out as much as it did going in, and he had to deal with it both ways. Fill the feeders, wait, clean the droppings, repeat: it was a nightmare, and Starscream had no way of waking up. His only relief came in the form of short little breaks that he was given sporadically, and that's what he was doing right now.

He leaned against a wall with a muck rake still clutched in one fist. The cleaning tool may as well of been welded into his hand, as he never seemed to be without it anymore. He just stood there with his face in one hand, quietly lamenting his plight as he went over his recent list of schemes that would, hopefully, get him out of this trap. Sadly, none of them seemed very likely to work. He was stuck, and it made him absolutely crazy.

Then, as though to further darken his mood, Starscream looked up to see the one person on this ship he hated the most: Leozack. The Decepticon second in command was trotting along down the corridor with a cybernetic lion following closely to his heel. Apparently, Deathsaurus had an entire unit, including himself of course, that had these animal sidekicks, and there was clearly a strong bond between master and beast. However, the remaining members didn't appear to be onboard the _Thunder Arrow_ , and everyone simply refused to tell him anything about them. When passing Starscream, Leozack paused, and he offered a smug grin.

"Would you look at that, Leobreaker?" he chuckled to his pet. "It is the famed 'Lord of the Universe', and his menacing muck rake of death and destruction."

Starscream's optics narrowed into dangerous slits, and he waved the rake dangerously at Leozack.

"You had better watch your tongue, boy, or I will show you just how dangerous this rake can be."

Leozack jumped back, but he had a humorously fake expression of fear pasted across his face.

"Oh, indeed and rightly so. I'm sure that horrible thing is now quite acidic after coming into contact with that…heh heh…hazardous material."

He broke down and started to laugh, his lion, Leobreaker, chuffing along with a noisy purr. It was then that something snapped in Starscream's mind. He cut loose with a mad cry, and he charged at Leozack with his rake raised over his head. Suddenly, Leozack stopped laughing, and he dodged to one side. As Starscream rushed past, Leozack tripped him with a well-placed foot, grabbed him by an arm, and then flipped the former air commander onto his back and against the wall. Starscream was left with an upside-down view and a very confused look as he stared up at the now scowling Leozack. Leobreaker even snarled for an added measure.

"Do not presume too much, Starscream." Leozack warned in a scathing tone. "You may possess a sharper tongue than I do, but I am every bit your superior in every other way. So, heed this small pearl of wisdom: never…do that… _again_!"

Leobreaker gave another growl to drive the point home, and Starscream did his best to offer a nod. A hard feat to accomplish when you are upside-down with your back to the wall. He pushed himself up, and he struggled to get back to his feet.

"Besides beating me into submission and offering advice, am I to assume that there is something you want from me?"

The grin returned, and Leozack chuckled.

"Yes, as a matter of fact. Seeing as how you will be staying with us a while, and given that Lord Deathsaurus has deemed it that I must watch over you, I feel that it is my duty to give you a proper tour of the ship and introduce you to the crew."

Starscream stared at Leozack for a long moment, and then he huffed and turned to leave.

"No thanks. I'd rather be cleaning you 'crew's' droppings again than waste my time with the likes of you."

Leozack suddenly grabbed Starscream's shoulder, and he started to squeeze, denting the metal. He spun the flyer back around to face him, and he directed a fierce glare into Starscream's optics.

"Maybe I haven't made myself clear. You _belong_ to me. When I tell you something, it is not a suggestion. It is an order!"

With that said, he whistled to Leobreaker, whom started to nip at Starscream's feet. Starscream yelped and started to move down the hall, Leozack following close behind. They made their way through the ship until they came across the room where Starscream first encountered the ships occupants. There was the Dinoforce, once again lined up against the wall with Icepick atop his T-rex taking up a roll call. Starscream studied the group carefully, and he noticed that something was missing. He couldn't quite place his servo on it, but he couldn't help but feel like it was something important. Something…

"Wait for me!"

Oh, there it was! In came Slog the triceratops, barging into the room at top speed before crashing into Icepick's mount and knocking him to the floor. This resulted once again in the Dino commander calling out his subordinate on his tardiness, and Slog would blubber meekly while offering a heartfelt apology. At his side, Starscream heard Leozack chuckle.

"It's the same thing, every day, with those two. One would think it would get tiresome after a while, but I can't help but crack a smile at their antics."

There was a sudden pause. Starscream chanced a glance, and he noticed that the second in command had adopted a more sullen look.

"Of course," he went on, "it only makes it more tragic when one looks back on what they were like before."

Now Starscream was curious.

"Before?" he asked, quirking a tin brow. "What do you mean? Were they not always like this?"

Leozack shot him an angry look.

"Of course not! Once, a long time ago, these were some of the fiercest, mightiest, most powerful warriors ever to terrorize the galaxy."

There came a crash, and the two looked up to see the spiny ankylosaurs lying flat on his back with his short, stubby legs kicking madly in the air. The brachiosaur and pterodactyl were trying to help him get right-side up again. Starscream gave his head a shake.

"Pardon me if I find that kind of hard to believe. As far as I can tell, they're idiots."

Leozack rolled his optics, and then he took a deep breath. He looked back to the Dinoforce, and his expression changed to that of wistful and nostalgic.

"I can't really say that your observation isn't accurate, but you can't pick your family."

When Starscream didn't offer anything in reply, he continued.

"We lost track of them many eons ago." he said. "Then, one day, we finally managed to track down their ship. When we found them, they were just as you see them now: near mindless monstrosities that are about as useful as a crate of wet scraplets. Icepick was the only one with some semblance of intelligence remaining, and he explained as best as he could what had happened. Apparently, their ship drifted close to a star that was sending out an unusual amount of flares, which knocked out their systems. They crashed down on a planet with little to no energon deposits. With rations low, and most of their equipment rendered useless in the crash, they did something utterly drastic. Using what little technology they had left, they captured some of the local wildlife and created the harnesses you see them using now; pretender shells, that's what they call them. Once linked, they could piggyback off of the creatures' own lifeforce, and thus they were sustained. Unfortunately, given the poor nature of the parts used to make the harnesses, the dampeners used to minimize the thought patterns of the creatures were defective, and they were all almost driven mad by their mounts' instincts. It took some doing, but we managed to help them regain some semblance of their old identities, even if they are mere facsimiles."

He looked back to Starscream.

"Come along. You may as well meet them."

Once again, with Leobreaker nipping at his heels, Starscream was forced to move forward, and they entered the training room just as the group was starting their exercises. As was the usual, Icepick was watching the group from atop his steed, barking orders like a drill instructor. However, none of the Dinoforce seemed particularly interested in his orders and were just running about doing whatever they wanted. Leozack and Starscream moved up behind him, and Leozack cleared his throat. Icepick spun about, and his optics went wide when he spotted Starscream. He wasn't paying attention to what he was doing, and he lost his grip on his mount and slipped off. He crashed unceremoniously onto the floor, but he quickly recovered and stood at attention for Leozack, offering a salute.

"Drill Sergeant Icepick, reporting for duty, Leozack sir!"

Leozack nodded to him.

"At ease, sergeant. There are no orders at this moment, I merely wished to introduce our newest crewmate to the others."

He gestured to Starscream, whom offered a half-hearted attempt at a wave, and Icepick replied in kind by turning up his nose.

"Yes, we've met before. Well, if this is how it must be, then I shall do my part. Do follow me."

He guided the small group to the nearest dino, whom turned out to be Slog. Unlike his comrades, he wasn't partaking in any form of exercise, nor was he even moving. Instead, he was just lying on his belly with his legs propping up his head as he looked down at something. It should also be noted that every so often he would giggle like a giddy child. In truth, he sounded more like a four-year-old earth child than a battle-hardened warrior. When Starscream got closer, he noticed that the triceratops was staring down a small, clear, square-shaped object. Inside there was some form of green foliage, some sticks, and several tiny lifeforms crawling about. Slog was watching them with deep interest, and he didn't hear the group come up behind him. Icepick stopped short, taking up a spot right behind Slog, and he cleared his throat.

"Attention, lieutenant! Front and center!"

Slog suddenly bolted upright, and his tail instinctively lashed out, sweeping Icepick's legs out from under him. He tried to rise back to his feet, but he was knocked to one side by Slogs horns, sending him into a wall. By the time Slog spotted him, Icepick was lying in a dented heap, and his optics were spinning in his head. Slog gasped, and he quickly moved in front of Icepick and began to bow his head apologetically.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

Icepick grumbled something under his breath, and then he pushed the big beast's head out of the way.

"Yes, yes, I know you're sorry, Slog. Just drop it and we'll move on, alright?"

The triceratops mood immediately turned a big one-eighty, and he was once again smiles and rainbows.

"Ok. What's up, Cap?"

Starscream stared at the three-horned creature with rising confusion. His tail was even wagging like some sort of mongrel dog. Seriously, this…thing was once a great warrior? Surely not.

Slog was now standing to attention next to Icepick, whom cleared his throat.

"Presenting my second in command and first field officer: Slog. His primary directive in combat is as vanguard, using his three sharp horns and armored skull plating to tear into the enemy."

"I MAKE THE ENEMY GO BYE BYE!" Slog declared cheerfully.

Icepick cleared his throat.

"Yes, and you do it splendidly. I've taken Slog here personally under my wing, and he has the most mental redevelopment of my entire unit, sans myself of course. As you can see, he can talk in complete sentences, and his loyalty is worth its weight in high-grade energon."

Slog developed a deep blush. He wasn't used to his commander speaking so highly of him, and it made him forget the several mean things he had said over the years. Starscream, on the other hand, was unmoved. He turned his attention to the small box on the floor, and he looked down at it. He scrunched up his face.

"Are those not…insects?"

Slog put on a proud smile, and he trotted over to the small box and took a seat.

"They're my buddies." he said with a goofy grin. "Every time we stop by a planet, I pick up a couple or so and put them in these little boxes. It provides atmosphere, and it even mimics their planets' terrain. I'll introduce you! This one's Hector, that's Bill, that's Hickory…"

As Slog continued on, Icepick pulled the group back and they started on to the next dino.

"Don't mind him." he whispered. "Believe it or not, they've been a big help for him to get his mind back in order. Just don't tell Lord Deathsaurus, though. He really hates those things."

Starscream perked up at that.

"Oh, really?"

Leozack nodded.  
"Indeed. I remember the last time one of Slog's 'pets' got loose. It was long and had a lot of legs. To this day, I never thought I would have seen such a sight as our lord clinging to his throne like a lifeline."

Starscream did his best to conceal his smile. So, the big bad warlord had a weakness that could easily be exploited. How delightful. From there, Icepick introduced Starscream to the rest of the Dinoforce.

Up next was Scowl the stegosaurus, and no sooner had the coconut hit Starscream's face did he realize that he was going to hate him. He appeared to be the practical joker of the group, fond of throwing things and tripping bots, such as Icepick, with his club tail. He reminded Starscream of Skywarp, his old comrade, and Scowl seemed to be just as useful as the loudmouth flyer. He was meant to act as the team's left advancing guard so as to protect Slog on his left flank. However, he didn't appear too interested in his job and would usually trip Slog so that the remaining Dinoforce would trip all over themselves. Even before his drop in intelligence, according to Icepick, the guy had always been a jerk.

Following Scowl was Bristleback the stegosaurus, and the team's right advance guard. While every bit as incompetent and stupid as the other dinos, Bristleback took it a step further. He was incredibly lazy, and he would rather be taking a nap than running drills. During the introductions, Icepick ordered him to stand to attention and greet their new comrade. Bristleback responded with a partially raised head, a snort, and then just laid back down without another thought.

Next was the Dinoforce scout, Wildfly the Pteranodon. Now this was a bot that Starscream could almost admire. He was, first of all, a flyer like himself, and, while he didn't quite have the vocabulary to enforce it, he was quite boastful of his flying prowess and ability to breath fire. Yes, just like the dinobots of eath, Wildfly too could breathe fire, and it made him essential to the Dinoforce as artillery. Unfortunately, he had one crucial flaw: he was near sighted. Sure, while he was on the ground he was able to do just fine, but as soon as he hit the air, his assigned space, he couldn't tell who was friend and who was foe. Icepick still had scorch marks from the numerous times he had been set on fire.

Last, and certainly the least, was the aptly named Birdbrain the brontosaurus. Easily the biggest and perhaps the strongest, Birdbrain took up the rearguard of the dinoforce with Icepick taking the center with his mount. Even amongst a team of idiots, Birdbrain was just a tremendous moron. He was the least developed mentally, good for little more than a giant paperweight, and Icepick actually cheered when the big fellow uttered a curt "Hi." in greeting.

With that, the tour was over, and Leozack herded Starscream away so as to let Icepick get back to work. With the experience over, Starscream couldn't figure out if he had learned anything of real importance, or if he had just burned away a few more segments of his rapidly decreasing intelligence. Either way, he had had enough of his fellow crewmates for one day, and he just wanted to be alone.

"Well, Leozack," he said as he moved past the Decepticon second-in-command, "it's been fun, but I really must get back to work. You know how it is. Those stalls don't clean themselves, and if I start now I may finish before…"

Leozack stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. Starscream flinched expecting another threat or beating, but neither came. Curious, Starscream wheeled around and studied the younger bot. He appeared to be serious, which was saying something given how this day had been going so far. Leozack took a moment to make sure they were alone, and then he pulled Starscream closer.

"I must be honest with you, Starscream." he whispered. "I didn't just want to introduce you to the dinoforce. What I really want…no, what I need is for you to take my deal."

Now Starscream was interested.

"Deal? What deal?"

Leozack checked the hall one last time, and he took a deep breath.

"I've learned a lot during my scouting for this Optimus Prime you told us about. In the process, I learned a lot about this war, and I fear that I must admit that these Autobots are far more formidable than anticipated."

"Oh, really?" Starscream said with the shadow of a sneer.

"Don't get the wrong idea!" Leozack said quickly. "Lord Deathsaurus could easily slaughter the entire lot of them. Therein, however, lies the problem."

Starscream made a face.

"How is killing the Autobots a problem? Especially if your so-called lord is so powerful. I'd call it a blessing."

Leozack snorted.

"I'm sure you would, but here's the thing. Lord Deathsaurus is a zealot when it comes to the order of Megatronus, and any sign of sacrilege is nothing more than a big target for him to destroy. While I can't question his justification, I can't help but think about what a waste of time it has been seeking this false prime out. We should be out looking for energon sources to plunder, not playing seek and destroy. Time is short, and we should be more focused on energon harvesting."

Starscream had no idea what he was talking about, but he did recognize the younger bot's tone, and he couldn't help but feel a rush of excitement course through his core.

"I apologize if I sound a bit presumptuous, my dear Leozack, but is that not the sound of mutiny I hear in your voice?"

Leozack paused for a brief moment, and then, very slowly, he nodded. Starscream's face welled in to a full-fledged smile, and he began to ring his hands together.

"Well, then, you certainly caught my interest. But why do you want my help? Surely it couldn't be that much of a chore to trick the Dinoforce into doing your dirty work."

Leozack shook his head.

"Don't sell them too short. They're not too bright, but they are loyal to a fault. They would never betray Deathsaurus, willingly or otherwise. It's even worse with my brothers back on home base, whom all but worship him like a god. That is why, Starscream, I need your help."

"Oh?" Starscream asked curiously.

"It's like this," Leozack continued, "while I am certainly the superior warrior between the two of us, you do have one dangerous weapon I am far from mastering: a razor-sharp tongue. As I researched this false prime, I discovered your little reputation as a deceiver and a usurper, and if it weren't for that foolish pride of yours I think you would have succeeded a few thousand times over."

Starscream wasn't quite sure whether that was an insult or a compliment. Perhaps it was both.

"Hence why I need your help. If anyone can help me to find and exploit Deathsaurus' weaknesses, it would be you? So, what do you say? Want to make an alliance?"

Starscream didn't answer just yet. He struck a thoughtful pose, and he considered all that Leozack very carefully. It was obvious that the lion themed bot was quite serious, and it seemed that he had an urgent reason for his enterprise, even if he wasn't willing to share what it was. Still, there was one last important matter Starscream had to bring up, and it would be the deciding factor for his choice.

"What's in it for me?"

Leozack thought on that for a brief moment.

"You said that you had allies that rebuked you, correct?"

Starscream nodded.

"Well, one way or another, we are going to kill this Optimus Prime fellow. When we do, well, I wouldn't be too proud to say that it was your idea."

Starscream's optics glistened with devious delight. He could all but see his fellow decepticons kneeling before him in abject humiliation as he strutted through Planet Styx with the dead body of Optimus Prime in tow. It was too delicious to resist.

"Leozack, you got yourself a deal! Let's kill a war lord."

The two shook hands, and the deal was made. Just then, an alarm began to blare overhead, and Leozack grinned.

"Ah, the fruits of my search prior have come. We have reached our destination."

"Destination?" Starscream asked.

"The location of Optimus Prime." Leozack explained. "I learned he was visiting some sort of outpost. Some dust covered little tripe of a planet called Rillick."


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

If there was ever a bot that was accused of explosive moments of joy, Chief Medical Officer Ratchet would most certainly not be that bot. As sullen as he was cantankerous, Ratchet always seemed to have a chip on his shoulder about one thing or another, and he also never seemed to be without complaint. So, you can imagine what the medical bot's mood was like when he arrived on Rillick. On top of finding out there was no trained acting medical officer, just a skittish young bot with some basic first aid knowledge, and to top it all off they had little to no medical supplies. Even what little they had was just a scattered, unorganized mess, and a lot of the containers didn't even have labels on them. It was enough to make Ratchet spit.

Fortunately, something…less annoying presented itself to take his mind off of things in the form of Wing Dagger and Padlock. With the femme Quicksilver carrying them over her shoulders, the two were a sorry sight to see, and Ratchet had to fight to stave off a fresh series of gripes and complaints that were forming in his processor. He immediately got to work fixing up the two young mechs, and Quicksilver filled him in on what had happened.

"Typical." the grumpy medic grumbled. "I've dealt with similar situations before, and they never get any easier to deal with. If it's not some mouthy young mech teasing a monoformer, it's a monoformer that can't take a joke. It just makes me want to punch both sides and call it a day."

Quicksilver shrugged.

"Ore and Shock have always had bad tempers. It's just a good thing Optimus showed up when he did, otherwise who knows what would've happened."

Ratchet actually laughed at that.

"If I had an energon cube for every time I've heard that, I'd never have to recharge again."

He turned back to Padlock, and he finished up the panel he had been working on.

"You're quite lucky, son. The damage to your T-cog was minor if anything at all, though some of your internal infrastructure was all but wound around it. I've given you a temporary fix for the time being, but I don't want you trying to transform again until I've had the chance to properly buff it out."

Padlock made a sour face.

"And you can't do that now why?"

Ratchet's perma-sneer suddenly deepened, and he leered down into Padlock's optics, giving him an eyeful of the grizzled medic's past experiences with similarly asked questions.

"Why? I'll tell you why. It's because we're sitting in a Primus forsaken dust bin with little more than baling wire and duct tape to keep you bots together, and it's only made worse because a lunatic that doesn't know how to let go is running everything here. Landmines, live ammo firefights, hand-to-hand sparring sessions that all but result in dismemberment of some sort: do you see what I'm getting at here? I was lucky I had just enough to work with to do what I did to you, and I still have to work on your friend over there. Do I need to go any further?"

Padlock meekly shook his head, and Ratchet snorted.

"That's what I thought."

He turned his back on a rather humble looking Padlock, and he turned his attention towards the battered Wing Dagger.

"Ok, wing ding. It's your turn. Now tell me where it…"

Ratchet trailed off when he realized that Wing Dagger was staring at him with wide eyes and other looks of heavy anticipation. It made the old medic a little uneasy, and he looked to Quicksilver for support.

"Uh, did he suffer damage to his processor or something?"

To his surprise, the femme started to laugh.

"Oh, no, it's nothing like that. He's just starstruck is all."

Ratchet digested that bit of information, and his face quickly became sour once again. He looked back to Wing Dagger.

"Ok, kid, let me make something clear. There is no need to be getting excited here. I'm just a medic. Nothing more, nothing less. Now I'd be touched if it's my profession that interests you, but I'm not really anything worth mentioning."

Wing Dagger shook his head.

"If you really believe that, then you're selling yourself way, way, way too short, sir. I mean, you're really him! THE Ratchet, the greatest doctor of Iacon Community Hospital and Physical Therapy clinic! You single-handedly, and I mean that in a literal sense, treated a dual bypass pump failure, and you even donated one of your own hoses for the operation. There was also the time you removed a scraplet nest from within a poor soul's spark chamber with nothing but a pair of tweezers. Why else would you be called "Magic Fingers"? You're one of the most skilled physicians in the history of…"

"Woah! Slow down there kid!"

After several millennia, Ratchet had been exposed to many strange phenomena and experiences. Given all he had been through, he had been almost certain that he had seen everything, and that there was nothing left to surprise him. Then he met this kid.

"How on Cybertron do you know any of this stuff? When the war broke out, pretty much all of my prior records were wiped out due to an emp strike on Iacon, and I was never too keen on sharing my past with anyone; I was too busy stitching up bots. What's more, there's only one person that ever called me by that nickname."

He stopped short, and then he fixed Wing Dagger with a level stare.

"Wait a cycle. You wouldn't happen to have connections to a femme by the name of Platina, would you?"

Wing Dagger smiled, puffed out his chest with pride, and he bobbed his head up and down in a gleeful nod.

"That's my mom!"

Ratchet's eyes widened with shock, and then he did something unexpected. The corners of his mouth began to slowly etch upward, and eventually they moved so far apart that the old bot was actually smiling, and Padlock was almost certain he heard a creaking sound from underuse.

"Well I'll be dipped in liquid metal. I thought I recognized that patchwork underneath your armor. Here, let me get a better look at ya."

Wing Dagger offered no resistance, and he even opened up his own chest. Unsurprising, there was much internal damage from when the combiner had smashed him into the ground, but Ratchet had seen worse. In fact, there weren't any signs of energon leakage. It was possible that he could even still transform, but not without some mild pain and severe discomfort. Ratchet couldn't help but feel it. He was impressed.

"Good old, Platina. I'd recognize this kinda patchwork job anywhere. Built to last, not to sustain."

Wing Dagger nodded.

"Yep, that's my mom's style. You'll be proud to know that she's now the chief medical officer of the entire neutralist colony, Reynart. She's fixed up a lot of bots that got hurt down at the mines, and she's been viewed as the angel of the of the colony. She still gives you all the credit, though."

Ratchet chuckled, and he gave his head three, slow shakes.

"Typical. That kid never could give herself the credit she was owed. So, who was the lucky rustbucket that finally tied her town."

"Omnicron, though you may know him as Boron."

Ratchet's optics brightened. Another surprise.

"Really? Ol' Boron the moron? I could tell you stories about all the times he tried to woo your mother with poetry."

Wing Dagger's optics sparkled with devious delight.

"Tell me! Tellmetellmetellme!"

Ratchet gave a laugh, and he pat the boy on the shoulder before closing up his chest.

"Cool your jets, bucko. If I got time later, I'll gladly let you know. Right now, I gotta get back to stocking the infirmary's inventory, and that means another trip to our ship and carrying an armload of essentially, yet unbelievably fragile, equipment."

Wing Dagger perked up at that.

"I can help!"

Ratchet shook his head.

"No, no. That won't be necessary. It's my job, and you should allow your body to rest. I fixed ya up, but you're still damaged goods."

He looked to Quicksilver with an authoritative look.

"While I'm gone, young femme, I'm leaving you in charge. Make sure these two mechs don't go and start another brawl. I do have other bots that need a looking over."

Quicksilver smiled, and the offered the old medic a thumbs-up.

"I'll do my best, sir." she said before a small smirk crossed her lips. "But I can't make any promises."

Ratchet rolled his optics, and he started his way out the door.

"Sparklings." he muttered, though he wore the shadow of a smile.

When he was gone, the infirmary fell silent. Wing Dagger shifted his weight about, and then he reclined against his clinic slab. He was in seventh heaven, and his smile was infectious, as was his mood.

"I just can't believe it." he tittered. "First, I'm rescued by Optimus Prime, my all-time hero, and then I get patched up by my mom's old boss. All of the sudden my bucket list is getting too short. Maybe I should start looking for new exciting things to write down, eh Pad…lock? Hey, you ok, buddy?"

The green mech had to give his head a shake when he realized he had been staring, and he flashed Wing Dagger and apologetically sheepish look. He seemed a bit shaken, even his optics had dimmed so that his facial features could be better seen. He looked like he had just been in deep thought, and he was slowly preparing the words needed to speak his mind.

"Your eyes were weird." he finally said.

Wing Dagger made a face.

"My eyes?" he asked, cocking his head. "What are you talking about?"

Padlock folded his arms across his chest, and he let his mind drift back, back to the mess hall and when his back was pressed against the wall.

"When OreShock had me pinned, I thought my life was about to come to an end. Then, there you came with a shout, and I thought you had lost your mind. But that's when I saw it. It was quick, like a flash of lightning in the stormy sky, but it was there none the less. This intense flicker that danced inside your optics as you struck OreShock. It was almost like I was looking at a different person."

Wing Dagger looked away and rubbed the back of his head thoughtfully.

"I don't know really know what to say." he admitted. "I was just trying to help, is all. I wasn't really thinking when I did it. I'm not really much of a fighter." He held up his still dented fist. "As you can plainly see, but I'm not just gonna sit back and watch my friends get bullied. What kinda friend would that make me?"

Padlock's face broke out into a large smile, and he reached over and gently rapped his fist against Wing Dagger's shoulder.

"In my book, you're a pretty good one, pal. Thanks buddy. Really, I mean it."

Wing Dagger's infectious grin returned, and he took Padlock's hand into his own and gave it a firm, brotherly handshake.

"Anytime, bro. Any time."

As the two carried on and reconciled, Quicksilver leaned against a wall and watched them in silence. Though discarded by the two of them without another thought, Padlock's observation had the femme's processor running at full steam. She looked at Wing Dagger carefully, and she felt that she now saw him in a new light. When he had first offered to help her with her quest, she had passed it off as just youthful enthusiasm. But now, with this thought in mind, she had become much more curious about this red, white, and blue bot. Maybe, just maybe, he was just the bot she had been looking for.

…

Optimus stood alone on the balcony overlooking the academy's training yard. He should have been interviewing the academy's students, but he wasn't. He should have been studying the academy's grounds and making sure they were up to code, but he wasn't. He should have been talking to Prowl about his study plans and what kind of education his students were getting, but he wasn't. So, what _was_ he doing? Quite frankly, he was sulking.

The autobot commander was still reeling from his and Prowl's free-for-all, and it had drained him of any and all ambition. He didn't really have any animosity towards Prowl; honest he didn't. In fact, he had nothing but the utmost respect for his former strategist. Prior to the war, Prowl had been a member of the Elite Guard, and he was one of the greatest law enforcement agents in the entirety of Iacon. Given that his library had been in the center of the cybertronian metropolis, Optimus, as Orion Pax, had been able to provide plenty of resources for the always on the move officer. The two had shared many riveting stories concerning Prowl's many cases, and Orion Pax admired Prowl's stalwart beliefs about absolute justice. It was no surprise that he rose through the autobot ranks so quickly, especially thanks to his strategic mind. Together with their allies, they had given everything they had to stop the decepticons and bring Cybertron back to a small sense of normalcy.

So why is it the two of them were at such odds now? True, the autobots had suffered many great and terrible losses over the millenia, but that was just it. Optimus had grown sick of slaughtering his own kinsmen, even if they did wear decepticon badges. Clearly, the remainder of the remaining council had agreed, but Prowl was stubborn. Shortly after the building of the first decepticon prison camp, Prowl had resigned from his seat in the senate in protest. Optimus had tried to talk to him then, and the results were not too different from what had happened today. He thought that giving Prowl reign over one of the new academies would help him to calm down and cope with the council's decision, but now he was wondering if that had been the right move.

On a more personal note, however, he began to wonder if Prowl had a point. One of his chief complaints back at that meeting of the council so long ago was that the others had been influenced by Optimus himself. Optimus had denied this, putting in that most of his legislative power had gone directly to the council that had been elected by the other autobots on Cybertron, but now he was starting to wonder if maybe he had done something to influence the vote.

Before he could process these thoughts further, he heard footsteps, and he looked up to see an orange and cream colored autobot with stalky limbs.

"Oh, Optimus, there you are!" proclaimed Rung, the autobot psychiatrist. "I've been looking all over for you. I swear, this place is so big that I'm surprised even Prowl finds his way around this sandblasted outpost."

"I'm sure he knows his way." Optimus said off-handedly. "I trust you have finished your initial inspection?"

Rung's face into a frown, and his gave his head a shake.

"Indeed, I have, and I'm sorry to report that it isn't a very good one."

Reaching behind his back, Rung removed a circular device and held it flatly, and a holographic image showing several faces and locations.

"I've interviewed as many of the students as I could in this short time," he reported, "and, suffice to say, both testimony and just plain sight have proven the accounts we received back on Cybertron. I noted at least three students that were missing at least one limb, and they reported that Prowl was often vague in when they were to receive replacements. Prowl has also been putting them through some very exhaustive training regimens. I mean, it isn't necessarily Wrecker level, but it certainly isn't what a bunch of sparklings should be subjected to. In conclusion, I couldn't find a single room within this entire compound that was used for arithmetic, historical studies, or even linguistic training."

Optimus gave his head a grave shake.

"It sounds to me that he's training them on how to be soldiers."

"My sentiments exactly." Rung replied dryly. "Apparently, he's even quarantined off a select group of students that have, how did they put it, 'advanced talent'. Optimus, I know that he has done much for both Cybertron and the autobot cause, but I cannot condone this! As a psychiatrist, I can honestly say that…"

"That will not be necessary, Rung." Optimus suddenly cut in. "I'm well aware of what is going through Prowl's processor, and I can probably guess what he's planning."

Rung fell silent to get a better look at Prime's face. In his line of work, one of the key parts of the bots he examines is their faces. From the slightest dimming of their optics to the way they wore their frown, Rung could identify many hidden secrets which would eventually lead to a breakthrough. As a bot of war, Optimus' face held many sags and overexerted features, but there were a few smaller, more fresh details that gave Rung a feel for what was going through the Prime's mind.

"I'm guessing you and Prowl have already spoken." he observed.

Optimus nodded.

"And," Rung went on, "I assume that it was not a very casual conversation?"

Optimus replied with a sigh, and he wiped a hand over his face in aggravation. He really did look old, Rung had thought to himself. His once brilliant and bright paintjob was now dull and faded to the point that the red and the blue were starting meld together. There were still cracks in his armor from countless battles, and one of his signature, shoulder-mounted smokestacks was somewhat lopsided and out of place.

The big bot breathed in a deep sigh, slowly released it, and then hung his head low.

"Rung, may I ask you a personal question and receive an honest answer?"

Rung, while confused by the sudden question, nodded his head.

"But of course, Optimus." he said with assurance. "You know you can come to me with anything. Doctor/patient confidentiality, you know."

Optimus gave him a look.

"I wasn't aware we were in a session, Rung."

Rung smirked.

"I'm always in session, Optimus. Now then, your question?"

Optimus fell silent for a moment as he looked for his words.

"Did I do the right thing?" he asked. "We had been fighting for so long, and I was just so ready to put it behind me after my duel with Megatron. But was it the right thing to spare the decepticons? I want to know what you think."

Rung took in this question with a neutral expression. He was a hard bot to read, and Optimus wasn't quite sure what he was thinking. After much deliberation and calculation, Rung finally offered a reply.

"Optimus, get over it."

Optimus' optics jumped.

"Excuse me?"

"Forgive my bluntness, Optimus, but you asked me to be truthful. You're always so quick to place the world on your shoulders, and normally it is one of your greatest qualities. But this time it is completely unfounded. Shortly after Megatron's fall and the rise of the new Cybertronian government, you purposely split your power with a council of representatives elected by the many factions of Cybertronian culture so that no one bot would control the government, and everyone would have a voice. Perceptor represents the science community, Bumblebee the working class, Ironhide is over the military, and Prowl, until he stepped down, was over law enforcement. Your only job was as the tie breaker, and you weren't even needed. It was a three to one, and Prowl was the minority. Ergo, you are faultless. It's not like the decepticons got off easy, anyway. They've been quarantined in prison camps in the middle of Old Kaon, their T-cogs were surgically removed, and they have no rights whatsoever. That's what the council decided."

"Yes, that is true." Optimus conceded. "But what if it was my opinions that persuaded such a course? I openly shared my feelings of sparing the decepticons to the entire council."

"And I'm sure they respected your opinion." Rung said. "But I sincerely doubt it would have changed a thing. First, there's Perceptor. He's a very smart autobot, perhaps Cybertron's brightest. In an interview I had read, he stated the pros and cons of destroying the prisoners, and it was his personal opinion that it would be costlier to dispose of them than it would be to move them off to the side, and perhaps at some point put them to work. Then there's Ironhide. He is singlehandedly the most stubborn autobot I've ever met, even more so than Prowl. When he decides on something, he is resolute to follow it through regardless of who or whom he speaks to of it. Finally, there's Bumblebee. He's developed a lot since the beginning of the war. Though small on stature, he has a big heart, and he has a very sound judgement. He knew that he was in an important position, and he was thinking of everyone's needs. Not just yours."

Rung moved closer to Optimus, and he raised a hand to set it on the larger mech's shoulder.

"Anything Prowl has said to you about this matter, do try to put it out of your mind. He lost the vote, and he's just sore of it. At least you took up responsibility for the cons by acting as their overseer while I am working as their head psychiatrist. If there were truly any threat, you and I will be the first to ferret it out and put a stop to it. So, there's nothing to worry about."

Optimus looked down to Rung, and he fixed him with a serious look.

"Prowl doesn't seem to see it that way."

Rung frown, and he lowered his gaze.

"Yes, well, that's the thing, isn't it? Optimus, you know we'll have to do something about this. All I'll need are Ratchet's medical findings, and I'm certain that I'll have more than enough to shut this place down."

He looked back to Prime, and he offered him a gentle smile.

"But don't worry, Optimus. I'm sure it will all work out in the end. After all, confusion after wartime is to be expected, and peace always follows."

Optimus allowed himself a moment to consider that. He recalled how distressed and aggravated human soldiers back on Earth could be when they returned from war. On Earth, a war could last for a couple of decades, at the most. The Cybertronian wars had lasted for a couple of _millennia_ , so it was almost understandable why prowl had become so dysfunctional. There would have to be some sort of punishment, it was just protocol, but, if he tried hard and showed compassion, perhaps he could pull the salty officer out of his funk. He offered Rung a smile, and he opened his mouth to offer a reply… and that was when it happened.

A long shadow swept across the sky, and the two Autobots were shrouded in darkness. Through the hand still planted on his shoulder, Optimus could feel Rung shudder with anxiety.

"My, it gets dark out her quickly." Rung sputtered in a deadpan.

Optimus dared to look up into the sky, and his optics widened with dread.

"Oh, no."

…

"Hey, guys, come check it out!"

Padlock and Quicksilver rushed up next to Wing Dagger at the window, and they looked skyward towards the dark shape that was slipping out of orbit. The trio looked on in silent horror as the large object moved to the side, revealing a stylized, purple, face shaped icon that looked unmistakably like the decepticon crest. Quicksilver in particular felt her spark slow its fluxing to the part she feared it would go out, and he unconsciously placed her hands over her chest.

"It has begun." she said in a quiet whisper. "The shadow has arrived."


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

From his place upon his throne, Deathsaurus watched as Leozack aligned the _Thunder Arrow_ 's cannons and fired down upon outpost below. There didn't appear to be any surface to air defenses, so there was hardly any resistance to their barrage. With him was the entirety of the Dino Force and Starscream, whom all watched the onslaught with awe filled glee. Slog seemed the most interested with his lower half flattened against the ground, his tail wagging like a dog's, and his eyes glittering.

"Yeah, yeah!" he cheered. "Let 'em have it! Boom! Boom!"

However, he was suddenly disappointed when Deathsaurus raised a fist, and the shooting stopped. All optics then moved over to Deathsaurus, the mighty warlord rising from his seat. The monolithic monarch stared at the image on the large, central monistor displaying the ravaged outpost below. His face was expressionless though his bright, blue optics conveyed a million silent thoughts. Then, he stretched forth his hand, and with muted authority he proclaimed, "Go!"

Like a shot, the Dino Force started to charge out the door, and Leozack quickly followed after them. After staring at Deathsaurus for a good long moment, Starscream, too, followed suite to catch up with Leozack.

"That's it?" he asked the Decepticon lieutenant. "No orders? No rallying speeches? He just points and you guys go?"

Leozack tossed him a look over his shoulder, and he laughed.

"There is no need for any words, really. We already know what our lord requires of us. It is just a matter of carrying it out in the most efficient and effective manner."

"Is that so?" Starscream huffed as he picked up the pace to keep up. "Then, do you care to fill me in? I'm not exactly too familiar with your way of doing things."

By now, they had reached the hangar of the _Thunder Arrow_. Starscream could see Icepick issuing a series of orders to his troops, though most of them only seemed to be half listening, and he also appeared to be helping them attach parachutes to themselves. When feeling a nudge, Starscream looked back to Leozack.

"Pay close attention, Starscream." he ordered. "After disabling the enemy with an upper atmospheric bombardment, the Dinoforce forms ranks and parachutes down as the first wave."

"Permission to proceed, lieutenant?!" Icepick suddenly called.

Leozack raised one fist into the air, and he nodded.

"Granted! Death to the enemies of Megatronus!"

The Dinoforce howled and cheered as they stormed down the exit ramp before leaping out into the wild blue yonder. Starscream watched them go, half expecting them to forget to open their chutes midway, and then walked back over to Leozack.

"And what of us? Surely you have some use for me, seeing as how you allowed me to follow."

Leozack nodded and cracked a smile.

"As observant as ever, my dear Starscream. Whilst the Dinoforce is rampaging through the compound below, looking for anything we might find useful and just being an overall nuisance, we will slip in undetected to gather data."

Starscream made a face.

"Pardon my ignorance, Leozack, but what data? After a barrage like that, I wouldn't be surprised if they even had emergency power left. You really think any of their computer systems will still be in tact?"

Leozack regarded him with a wag of his finger.

"Oh, Starscream, my dear ally." he said in an almost chiding tone. "You focus far too much on the big picture that you fail to see the finer details. Tell me this. Does Optimus Prime usually live on this planet?"

Starscream, now intrigued, shook his head.

"Well, if that's the case, then Optimus must have come here on a ship. Therefore…"

He purposely left himself hanging, and he waited expectantly for Starscream's reaction. The older flyer's face was scrunched up in thought, and then his optics went bright, as though he had finally seen something just in front of him.

"Ah, I understand. You're after the information on Optimus' personal transport vessel. The travel logs alone would be valuable as I'm sure they detail all of the energon refinery planets he has visited."

Leozack nodded with pride.

"And I'm sure there will be much more interesting bits of information. That, you see, is my job on this ship. The Dinoforce is the distraction, Lord Deathsaurus deals with the major threats like Optimus Prime, and I specialize in infiltration, data gathering, and the occasional assassination when it is necessary."

Starscream couldn't help but feel a small twinge of delight. Leozack really did remind him of himself from when he was young. With just the right teachings and some practice, he could no doubt be a master deceiver…second to himself of course.

"I still have one question, though." Starscream suddenly said. "How does this, necessarily, play into our plans to destroy Deathsaurus?"

"It doesn't." Leozack simply replied. "While I don't agree with this detour, I can't deny that Optimus would probably become an obstacle sooner or later. Better to let Deathsaurus destroy him and be done with it before we move on to better things."

Starscream couldn't help but snort.

"I don't think you're giving Optimus enough credit. True, your master may be powerful, but Optimus has slain many Decepticons over the millenia, and that includes our former leader, whom was a mighty gladiator prior to the war. It's every bit as much possible that he will be the one destroyed."

"Is that so?" Leozack said, sounding doubtful. "Well, I suppose we'll just see about that. But, say Optimus is as mighty as you boast, maybe we'll get lucky and they'll destroy one another. But, until then, let us get back to the invasion. That information will not gather itself."

After ensuring that Leobreaker was securely fastened to his chest, Leozack took a running start down the exit ramp, jumped, and then transformed into a jet that reminded Starscream of an earth F-14 Tomcat. Starscream allowed himself just a few moments more to admire the small flyers near silent flyer descended upon the outpost.

"You know," he muttered to himself, "that kid is going to go places, and, fortunately for me, his coat tails are just long enough to let me ride my way back to the top."

With a devious smirk and a sharp laugh, Starscream made his way down the ramp towards the damaged outpost below.

…..

The medbay had been hit hard. Though not directly in the line of fire from the enemy warship, the resulting backlash had shook the room with great force, collapsing the ceiling and scattering the recently restocked medical supplies all over the place. Amidst this chaos and refuse, Wing Dagger stood protectively over his two friends, shielding them with his arms and upper body. When things had finally quieted down, Wing Dagger stood up and studied the others.

"You two alright?"

Quicksilver was the first to reply.

"Did anyone get the number of that truck?" she slurred dryly. She gave her head a shake to clear it, and then she looked up to Wing Dagger. "Thanks, Dag. I'm glad to see you're still in one piece."

"Ditto." the red, white, and blue replied. "Hey, Paddy, you ok there, buddy?"

He expected him to react to the unwanted nickname, but Padlock remained silent. He was sitting on the floor with his arms wrapped around his legs and his knees pressed against his chin. His optics were sparking with evident fright, and he was shaking madly.

"That…that did NOT just happen!" he stuttered sharply. "Somebody, ANYBODY, tell me we did not just get shot at by De…De…Decepti…"

"Decepticons." Wing Dagger said gravely.

The word hung in the air like a heavy fog, and it filled the three young bots with unquenchable dread. Already, countless stories were flashing through their processors at light speed, reacquainting them with the horrid faction's dastardly reputation. Padlock then shot to his feet, and he grabbed Wing Dagger by the shoulders and began to shake him madly.

"It's gotta be some kinda crazy nightmare, right?" he begged. "Megatron is dead! There's nobody left to lead them! Why would they come here? What did we do to deserve this? Are we even equipped to deal with something like this? We're all gonna be scrapped and sold for spare parts!"

Suddenly, Wing Dagger slapped him. Padlock backpedaled away and placed a hand to his face as he stared at Wing Dagger.

"Seriously! What did you slap me for?"

Wing Dagger shot him a hurt look.

"I don't know. I just wanted you to calm down, is all."

As for Quicksilver, she had fallen quiet with a hand to one side of her head. Her brows furrowed, and her mouth drew into a frown.

"I've got worse news for you, boys." she said. "The comms are down. All that shooting from before must have been meant to knock out the communications relay to cause confusion for a bigger assault."

Padlock's optics dimmed with despair.

"Oh, wonderful!" he moaned. "When I woke up this morning, all I had to worry about were messy recharge slabs. Now I'm gonna be dodging laser fire and grenades, and no amount of yelling from Prowl is gonna make it stop this time."

"Now Padlock, calm down." Wing Dagger said coaxingly. "This is no time to panic."

Padlock flashed him an incredulous look.

"Are you kidding me? This isn't like when Ore and Shock decided to use us for punching bags. This is for keeps! If ever there was a time to panic, it's now!"

"Why don't we just look for Prowl or Optimus?" Quicksilver suggested. "After all, this wouldn't be there first Decepticon attack, so there wouldn't be anywhere safer than with them."

"No way!" Padlock said defiantly. "I have no interest in getting blown up, today. I am staying right here, and there isn't a thing you two can do to convince me this time."

Suddenly, the ground began to shake, and something large came crashing through the wall. Padlock was now nose to pointy nose with Slog, the transorganic triceratops grinning like the fool he was.

"Hello." Slog giggled.

Padlock stared at him for a long moment. Then, he cut loose with an audio receptor splitting scream, and the last that anyone saw of him was him running through the door, leaving a silhouette of his body in the wall. Wing Dagger and Quicksilver stared at the hole in the wall, and then they exchanged glances.

"In my defense," Wing Dagger finally said, "it wasn't me that made him do that."

Quicksilver nodded.

"Shall we run for our lives, then?"

Wing Dagger stepped to one side.

"Femmes first."

With Quicksilver taking the lead, the two went charging out of the room through the hole their friend had made. Slog, with his back quarters stuck in his own hole, could only watch them go as his giddy smile drooped into a mournful pout.

"Was it something I said?"

…

Wing Dagger and Quicksilver finally caught up to Padlock in the training yard, ironically the only place that had been destroyed before the raid. As they stepped into the open-air yard, they spied their usually quiet, green mech stocking up with so many weapons that he looked like an earth eighties action hero. He didn't see them walking up due to the bundle of laser rifles he was carrying in his arms, and Wing Dagger had a hard time getting his attention because of the odd mass. He eventually moved in behind him, and he gave Padlock a gentle tap on the shoulder. This, however, proved to be a very hazardous move when Padlock jumped at the sudden contact and dropped his odd assortment of guns. When they hit the ground, they all started firing randomly, and the trio had to dance and dodge to avoid the deadly discharge. When the shooting finally stopped, Quicksilver stormed over to him and smacked him hard in the back of the head.

"You idiot! What are you trying to do, kill us?"

Padlock rubbed the back of his head and retrieved one of his dropped rifles, cocking it before slinging it over his shoulder.

"Excuse me if I'm just trying to protect myself. There could be cons anywhere in this entire stinking compound, and I just want to be sure that I shoot them before they shoot me."

"Overzealous mania aside," Wing Dagger piped in as he browsed through the wall of training weapons, "Padlock may have a point about arming ourselves. There's no telling what's gonna happen from here on out."

He couldn't help but laugh.

"Guess it was a good thing Prowl used live ammunition in our training simulations, after all."

Nobody else seemed to share his humor, but they both agreed with his thought. Quicksilver picked out a pair of photon pistols with she could magnetically attach to her hips, and she also took a wrist mountable grappling hook. Along with his rifle, Padlock reached for three grenades, but Quicksilver smacked his hands and fetched him three flashbangs instead, much to his aggravation. As for Wing Dagger himself, he opted for a short sword and collapsible shield. Padlock stared at him in confusion, and he noted that he didn't pick up a single firearm.

"Really? You're going with a sword?" he asked. "You realize that the Decepticons possess some of the greatest sharpshooters our race has ever known, right?"

Wing Dagger looked to him and shrugged.

"In case you forgot, I'm a terrible shot. It's much safer for the lot of us if I stick to what I'm good at, even if I'm not that great of a swordman. Besides, I'm a bit more durable in the rest of us, so I'll take up the vanguard position while you guys watch my back."

"Hey, fellas!" Quicksilver suddenly called with one of her pistols drawn. "Is it my imagination, or did that weapons rack just move?"

The two jumped, and they angled their eyes towards the alleged rack. Something indeed seemed to be behind it when it jiggled ever so slightly. Wing Dagger immediately took point, drawing his sword and motioning to his two friends to move behind him as he approached the rack. As they drew close, Wing Dagger cleared his throat.

"Alright, you! We know you're back there! Step out with your hands up before we come in after you."

"Yeah!" Padlock squeaked as he raised his rifle. "R-r-reach for the sky!"

The rack jiggled again, but this time something actually stepped out from behind it. It was a young, female transformer not much younger than the three of them, and she was sporting a yellow and blue paintjob. Wing Dagger smiled.

"Guys, put the guns away! It's Livewire!"

The newly named femme looked every bit as relieved as her three fellow students, and she quickly rushed over to Wing Dagger and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"You don't know how glad I am to see you guys." she gushed as she clung tightly to Wing Dagger. "It's been horrible! Just horrible!"

"You ain't just whistling Dixie there, sweetheart." Padlock said coyly before Quicksilver smacked him again.

"Where's everybody else?" Wing Dagger asked, finally prying the distraught femme loose. "You're the first student we've spotted since the whole thing started."

Livewire looked down sadly at her feet, and she gave her head three slow shakes.

"Gridlock and I were helping Ore and Shock clean the mess hall when it happened." she explained. "It was a big mess, and anything that got us out of training with Prowl was preferable. Next thing we knew, these big…things just burst through the walls. They looked like they were organic, but they actually had Decepticons hiding _inside_ of their backs. Some sort of pretender shells, I think, but that's not the worst part. They just grabbed Shock and Gridlock, tying them down with ion bindings. Ore shouted for me to run, but he stayed behind to help his brother. I don't know what happened after that. I just came here and hid."

The news only seemed to increase the already heavy feeling of dread amongst the sparklings. None of them wanted to even to consider what had happened, and it was only becoming more obvious that they needed to find Optimus and the others before things got more out of hand. He was just about to give the order to move out when, suddenly, a large shadow swept over them. Wing Dagger looked up just in time to see a leather-winged flyer swoop down on them. He jumped to dodge, only to leave Livewire with no protection. The creature seized her by the shoulders and then took back to the air with her screaming frame in tow. Not waiting for an order, Quicksilver fired her grappling hook, which latched around Livewire's ankles. The flying creature hissed at the sudden weight, and it began to beat it's wings harder as it tried to regain altitude. Quicksilver soon felt her feet being lifted off the ground, but she was saved when Wing Dagger grabbed her by the waist and pulled her back down.

"Padlock! His wings! Shoot them out!"

The green mech nodded, took careful aim with his rifle, and then opened fire. With a zap, a hole was burned through the creature's right wing, and, after a sorry fit of floundering, both creature and victim went back crashing to the ground. Hitting the ground, the creature released Livewire, and the young femme skittered off and hid behind Padlock. After Wing Dagger helped Quicksilver back to her feet, the two readied themselves as the beast turned its attention on them.

"KAW! Enemies!" the creature screeched in a high squeaky voice. "Enemies burn!"

It opened its long beak wide, and it expelled a massive ball of flame towards them. Pushing Quicksilver aside, Wing Dagger raised his shield to take the brunt of the blast. As he did so, Quicksilver retaliated by opening fire with her pistols. All shots hit their marks on the beast's chest, forcing the creature back. Wing Dagger then lowered his shield and rushed the creature, slamming the broad side of his sword against its head. The flyer swooned in a daze, did a neat little twirl, and then fell onto its face with its back to Wing Dagger.

"Welp," Wing Dagger said as he sheathed his sword, "that takes care of him.

He would soon eat his words when the creature's back popped with a hydraulic hiss, and then a short, stubby transformer jettisoned from the creature while brandishing two small hatchets.

"Then again, maybe not!" Wing Dagger exclaimed as he backpedaled away.

The short transformer swung his hatchets wildly at him, screaming unintelligible blabber that Wing Dagger could only guess to be curses. However, help was on the way in the form of Padlock and Quicksilver. With a shout, Padlock tossed one of his flashbangs, which exploded and momentarily blinded the Decepticon. Quicksilver then made a second used of her grappling hook by binding the bot's legs and yanking his feet out from under him. Even Livewire helped by diving onto the creature's back and pinning its arms. The bot hissed and snarled with rage, and both Quicksilver and Padlock had to join in to keep him from escaping Livewire's grip. With the fiend restrained, Wing Dagger sheathed his sword and bent down so that he was looking the bot directly in the optics.

"Why are you and your allies attacking this outpost?" he demanded. "What have you done with our friends?"

"Die! Kill! Die!" the bot replied, and nothing more significant ever left his mouth.

Discouraged, Wing Dagger straightened back up.

"You know, I don't mean to be rude, but does this guy kinda seem…well, stupid to anyone else?"

"He's…definitely lacking in intelligence points!" Padlock grunted as he strained to keep the con down. "Though he's no sap when it comes to brute strength! I can't hold him!"

The bot suddenly exploded back onto his feet, scattering his three oppressors in all directions and putting Wing Dagger dead in his sights. Cutting loose with a feral shriek, the bot lunged towards Wing Dagger with the sole intent of ending his life.

Suddenly, there was a mad blare of horn, and Wing Dagger barely had time to dodge as a massive semi, sans its trailer, crashed headlong into the attacking bot and smashed it into a wall. When the semi rolled away, it revealed that the bot had been wedged face first into the wall, and he now appeared to be in stasis. The semi then shifted into its true form as Optimus Prime, whom turned to Wing Dagger with an expectant look.

"Are you all alright?" he asked with concern.

Wing Dagger was, however, once again star struck whilst in the Autobot leader's presence. That was twice that his hero had saved him now, and his bliss all but radiated from his body in waves. To fill the void of silence, it was Padlock that spoke up.

"We're all ok, sir." he reported stiffly. "Though the situation is definitely worse than it looks."

"We have reason to believe they're kidnapping students." Quicksilver added. "Livewire can give you more details."

"I…I can…deal with that." the group looked up to see Rung hobbling onto the scene. The Autobot psychiatrist looked incredibly winded, and he had to bend over as he caught his breathe.

"The battlefield is certainly not a place for me." he wheezed and gasped. "I'm just not equipped to deal with such harsh conditions, nor am I in a proper physical condition."

"All the more reason for you to take refuge somewhere." Optimus stated sagely. "I want you to take these young ones and find somewhere to hide. I'll be taking command from here on out."

At the sounds of retreat, Wing Dagger suddenly bolted to attention, and he looked pleadingly to Optimus.

"Runaway? But, Optimus, we can help."

"What are you doing?" Padlock hissed. He was ignored.

Optimus looked down on Wing Dagger, and he studied him carefully.

"I appreciate your spirit, young bot, but that will not be appreciated. The situation has become far too dangerous for the likes of you."

Wing Dagger's shoulders sagged, and he fixed Optimus with a defiant look.

"With all due respect, sir, we can handle ourselves. I mean, we took on that one con and his pet without too much trouble."

"You mean the one that was about to clobber you?" Optimus deadpanned.

Wing Dagger huffed. "We would've figured something out." he offered in retort, though he didn't sound too confident in his claim.

Optimus gave his head a shake. "This is no longer a matter of discussion. You _will_ go with Rung and find a place to hide. End of story."

"But sir!" Wing Dagger continued to beg. "There's no telling how many cons are in this place. I don't mean to sound like I doubt your abilities, but you can't face them all by yourself. There's also the matter of the missing students. What if they've been kidnapped or something like that?"

Padlock looked back to the others.

"Seriously, is no one gonna speak up about this?"

Optimus once again shook his head. "It is not a matter you should concern yourself with. I already have plans for attaining reinforcements. Now I want you and the others to leave, otherwise I may be forced to…"

Suddenly, there was a loud squealing the assembled group's comms, forcing even the mighty Optimus to take a knee as he tried to blot out the noise. And then, they heard the voice.

 _Optimus Prime._ it whispered in a deep baritone, sending endless shivers down Wing Dagger's spine. _You shall not escape your crimes so long as my Spark still functions. I have a small group of your followers, and, should you desire them back unharmed, you will come and face me. Otherwise, you have my word that they will never be seen again. That is all._

The comms fizzled into silence, as did the group of Autobots in the training yard. Optimus swept his gaze around the group and made note of their terrified expressions. Of all of them, Padlock was the most ecstatic.

"I THOUGHT MEGATRON WAS DEAD!" he exasperated.

"He is." Rung stated pointedly before looking to their leader. "Optimus?"

The larger autoboot lowered his gazed solemnly as he weighed his thoughts. He folded his arms across his chest and began to drum his fingers anxiously against his arms.

"My first and foremost priority must be the students." he finally stated. "Without question we need to call in support, but I don't even want to think about what will happen to those sparklings if I dawdle for too long."

He looked to Rung.

"I couldn't ask you to attempt a run at the ship, old friend. I mean you no insult, but your insistence to be a noncombatant during the war has left you with little ability to defend yourself in such a predicament, and I wouldn't be surprised if the ship is being guarded to prevent escape."

"Then let us help!" Wing Dagger once again insisted, earning him Optimus' attention. "Look, I get it. We're young, we have little to no training, which is mostly my fault, and this isn't anything to laugh at. But we can help."

"I agree." Quicksilver finally spoke up. "The Autobots gave everything to ensure that we, the newest generation, would have a future. It's our turn to lend a hand for the future of those that will follow us."

Padlock looked between his two friends with an incredulous look, and he could feel the beginnings of a massive processor ache forming in the center of his head. Eventually, he vented a defeated sigh, and he offered a nod towards Optimus.

"What's more, I'm learning to become a communications officer, and the official Autobot codebook is one of my favorite reads. I'd be able to send out the necessary distress call to Autobot command through your ship's long-range communicator."

When Wing Dagger suddenly gave him a hopeful look, Padlock replied with an angry sneer.

"Don't get cute. If we survive, you're gonna owe me big time, buster."

"Then it is decided." Optimus declared. "You have your orders, everyone. Rung, I want you to take that young femme with you. I think she's seen enough, and there's no need to force those that aren't willing to fight."

"You can count on me, Optimus." Rung assured him as he protectively placed his hands on Livewire's shoulders.

"Then there isn't a moment to lose. Autobots, ROLL OUT!"

With that, Optimus shifted back into his alt. mode and peeled out of the training yard at top speed. When he was gone, Wing Dagger turned to his friends.

"You heard him, guys. Let's get moving. Last one to the hanger is a Decepticon's dinner! Yahoo!"

He went charging out of the yard, though Padlock and Quicksilver remained where they remained for a few moments.

"When I die," Padlock said dryly, "make sure that my tomb is lightyears away from his."

Quicksilver nodded, and the two of them followed after their friend. Now it was just the young femme and the Autobot psychiatrist remaining. Rung could feel the young sparkling shiver with evident fright, and so he looked down on her with a caring smile.

"Now, now, no need to worry, my dear. Everything will work out in the end. You'll see. Now come along, and we'll find a nice quiet place to hide and wait out this messy business."

"Oh, but why would you do that? You only just got here?"

Rung froze, and Livewire stiffened. A dark shadow loomed over them, and the sounds of ragged breathing touched their audio receptors. The two of them turned about to see a massive beast with large teeth leering down on them hungrily. On its back was the owner of the voice, a thuggish looking figure whom was brandishing a war club. He was smirking while pointing his club towards opening leading to the desert outside.

"Move. You are now the prisoners of the illustrious Lord Deathsaurus. So, start walking."

Rung never did acknowledge when he first started to walk, but his hands never left Livewire's shoulders. He could feel the terror that emanated from within the femme's tiny frame, and he hoped that his prescence provided some form of comfort for her. Things would be better, he assured himself of that, but usually that meant things got really bad first.

"And so it begins." he grumbled to himself.


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Optimus thundered through the outpost as fast as his treads could carry. The entire trip had gone by with no trouble, but that only seemed to add to his mounting worry. Where were the decepticons? Where were the students? Also, where the frag was Prowl?

He didn't have an answer for the first two questions, but his third came in perhaps the most horrific of ways possible. Pulling to a screeching halt, Optimus transformed to see the autobot strategist lying on the floor in a pool of his own energon. Hovering over him was a young, white medic bot whom seemed about ready to go into stasis lock as he endeavored to keep the fallen autobot soldier online. At the sound of Optimus' approach, he stiffened, but he visibly deflated when he realized who it was.

"Oh, th-th-thank Primus!" he exclaimed with an audible stutter. "I-I-I th-th-thought you were another c-c-con."

"Take it easy, son." Optimus said coaxingly as he knelt at the medic's side. "Everything's going to be alright. You got a name?"

"Private J-j-jitters, s-s-sir." the young mech stammered with a shaky salute. "F-f-field m-m-medic, I guess. S-s-sorry about the st-st-stutter. P-p-prowl said that it was un-un-unbecoming of a s-s-soldier, b-b-but I can't con-con-con…I can't stop it!"

Optimus shot an irate look at the fallen bot, and he reminded himself to be angry later. For now, he chose to lay a reassuring hand on the young medic bot's shoulder.

"There is nothing to be ashamed of, young mech. We all have our little quirks that set us apart from one another. They are placed into our designs by Vector Sigma itself. Be proud of it. Speaking of Prowl, how is he doing?"

Jitters turned back to Prowl, and he vented a deep sigh.

"F-f-fell on the f-f-first sh-sh-shot. He gr-gr-grabbed the elites and m-m-me so we could f-f-fight the decep-decp-decep…the bad guys."

He looked back to Optimus, and the larger bot could see that his optics had grown as wide as Cybertron's moon bases.

"Optimus, he's b-b-big! The head b-b-bad g-g-guy! He took out P-p-prowl with one shot. The other's t-t-told me to get him out of there, but th-th-they n-n-never followed. Th-th-that was nearly two hours ago."

This news only further deepened the pit that had formed in Optimus' spark chamber. Prowl was one of the greatest warriors Vector Sigma had ever produced. For him to be felled in one shot was completely unheard of, and he could only imagine what the bot responsible was like. It was days like this that Prime hated having an active imagination.

"Continue to patch him up." he instructed the medic. "Once he has been repaired enough to be carried, take him someplace where you can safely hide. I shall deal with the decepticon leader."

He rose back to his full height, and he turned towards the door that led outside. However, Jitters stopped him one last time by grabbing his hand.

"Optimus," he squeaked. "Please b-b-be careful. H-h-he is a m-m-monster. A m-m-monster with no heart."

Optimus regarded him, and he offered a small nod. Jitters then released him, and he was free to proceed. Giving Prowl one last pitiful look, he made his way through the door, closing it behind himself and locking it. Then, as he turned towards the sun-bleached desert, he beheld a sight he swore to Primus that he would never have to see again. Strewn amongst the sands were the remains of several cybertronians, all of whom had been torn apart and dismembered in one way or another. There was energon everywhere, and Optimus could feel each and every flicker of his own spark as the horror of the scene spread out before him. Tenderly watching his footing, he stepped through the crude graveyard, searching and praying for even one survivor. Suddenly, a hand erupted from the sand, startling Optimus' momentarily, but his fears only increased when he heard a weak and feeble, "Help."

Optimus immediately dove into the dirt and began to furiously dig, and bit by bit he began to make out the telltale form of a cybertronian youth. After brushing off the last bit of debris, he lifted the young mech up, only to find that he was missing his lower half and his spark chamber was exposed and pulsing very faintly. Now free of the sand, the young mech clung to Optimus like a lifeline, his entire body quivering and shaking. There was nothing he could do for him now, Optimus knew it. Jitters was still tending to Prowl, and it seemed that the young one wouldn't even survive the drag back to the outpost. The only thing he could do was keep the mech comfortable.

"Take it easy, son." he cooed gently as he coaxed the boy onto a sad dune. "I've got you. I'm right here."

The young bot continued to shake, but he mustered up the strength to tilt his head towards Optimus.

"He…he pushed me under the sand." he gasped with ragged breathes. "Like…like I was just garbage! Like I wasn't worth killing."

"I know." Optimus replied.

"I…I'm scared, sir." the cadet despaired. "I don't want to die. I'm not ready! I'm not…not ready!"

Optimus bowed his head in sorrow. How many times on the battlefield had he heard similar statements from scared autobots? How many had he have to carry on his back to safety, only for them to die halfway to the medic's tent? However, of all the times he had heard those words, this would, without a doubt, be the time that haunted his dreams the most.

"Seldom are we ever prepared." he finally replied. "But do not despair. I shall be with you until the end."

The young mech squeezed Optimus' hand tightly, and then…he slowly released it. His began to pulse slower and slower, and then it completely fizzled out. Optimus release the mech and allowed the shifting sand to once again cover him. A crude burial, even by his standards, but it was the best that Optimus could offer for the moment. He lowered his head, and he folded his hands together in prayer.

"May you find rest within the Well of All-Sparks." he whispered. "Till all are one."

Just then, he heard the sound of someone clapping. Springing to his feet, Optimus whipped around and drew his rifle. The source of the sound was a massive mass of a bot that surpassed even the visage of Prime's former rival. Everything about him looked dangerous, from the spiked crown atop his head, to the large, razor sharp, azure wings that adorned his back. In spite of the respectful gesture, he appeared to be flashing Optimus with a level of hate even Megatron could never fully replicate, and there was no question that his processor was just brimming with endless spite. When he spoke, it was a tone that conveyed a hint of respect, but overflowed with malice.

"You impress me." he stated in his gravelly tone. "I can at least acknowledge that you have some genuine honor in spite of your crimes. I salute you."

Optimus wasn't moved.

"Crimes? What manner of sin have I committed that would permit this sort of massacre? I don't even know who you are!"

"Then I will gladly tell you." the opposing bot replied angrily. "I am Deathsaurus, first apostle to the one true Prime, Megatronus. In bearing his title so cavalierly, you dare to blaspheme his name, an act I can never forgive."

Optimus stared at him for a long hard moment. He thought at first that he meant Megatron, that seemed logical enough given both the name and the decepticon insignia, but that didn't feel right. Perhaps he meant the actual Megatronus, the first decepticon and one of his thirteen progenitors. That, however, left him with more questions than answers.

"I was unaware that there were still any that honored the ancient Primes in such a fashion." Optimus stated disarmingly. "If I have offended you and your followers, then you have my humblest of apologies. Nevertheless, that does not permit your attacking this outpost and slaughtering these innocents!"

Deathsaurus tossed the lifeless bots with a nonchalant gaze.

"These are your disciples, Optimus. I asked for you and you only. Led by the black and white bot, they attacked me with a hearty cry. Had they of just remained in the base, I would not have been forced to strike them down. You alone are what I wanted, Optimus. Any that have perished here are not on my hands, but yours."

A fresh flare of anger rose up within Optimus' body.

" **That** is your justification?! Poetic nonsense? Never have I heard such utter tripe!"

"Then let us end this pointless talking." Deathsaurus declared dramatically. He raised a hand, and, in a flash of violet light, a medieval flail materialized into his grip, the spiked ball dropping to the sand with a heavy thud.

Following suite, Optimus dismissed his rifle, and he retracted his right hand and allowed his energon ax to materialize. The two titanic champions of the opposing factions stood tall amidst the sand, each sizing up the other as they looked for any possible advantage for the coming clash. As Deathsaurus hefted his mighty flail, he fixed his gaze so that it leveled with Optimus'.

"Pray to Primus if it suits you, False Prime. The Creator alone may be your only source of mercy."

"I need no mercy from the likes of you!" Optimus spat back in rebuttal. "Nor will you be allowed to escape the consequences of your actions. At the end of this day, one shall stand, and one shall fall."

With those final words, the two warriors charged, their heels kicking up sand as they closed in the gap for what would surely be one of the greatest struggles of their existences.

…..

"Have I mentioned yet that this is a stupid idea?"

"Yes, Padlock, you've already made that observation once or twice."

About halfway towards the docking bay, Wing Dagger's spirited sprint had slowed to a patriotic march. He stood at the forefront while Quicksilver and Padlock took up the rear. To receive a mission from Optimus Prime himself had the red, white and blue mech standing high on the mountain, and he was completely oblivious of the many gripes and complaints of his smaller, green companion held so firmly. Quicksilver, on the other hand, was not so lucky.

"Paddy, will you calm down! You yourself agreed to this mission."

"I swear if even one of you uses that blasted nickname one more time, I am going to shoot myself long before the decepticons ever get the chance! For your information, Quicksilver, the only reason I agreed to come along is because I didn't have any other choice. Neither of you know how to work a long-range communicator, and the only one I feel confident with defining my fate is me."

Quicksilver rolled her optics, but she said no more on the subject. The trio continued on in silence until they finally reached the starship hangar. The good news: Optimus' ship was right where he had left it, unscathed and fully functional. Bad news: it was being guarded by one of the biggest darn decepticon the trio had ever seen. Of course, neither of them were familiar with many decepticons. In truth, it more resembled the dinobot Sludge, the brontosaur, though more scaly and organic. The trio retreated back into the hall, and they discussed between themselves a plan of attack. Naturally, Padlock was the first to complain.

"You do realize this is impossible, right?" he grumbled. "You should've let me grab those grenades earlier."

"After you nearly shot us all to oblivion?" Quicksilver shot back in retort.

"And besides," Wing Dagger added, "you've got those flashbangs. Chuck one of those out there, and it'll blind him."

Padlock snorted.

"Oh, sure. Blind the giant, lumbering lummox so he'll smash everything in sight, including us."

Then, perhaps for the first time since the three of them had met, Wing Dagger shot Padlock a hard look.

"You know, that attitude of yours isn't helping things here, Padlock."

"My attitude?!" Padlock gawked incredulously. "Look who's talking Mr. _Optimus Prime noticed me so I'm gonna jump head first into a firefight_!"

"Oh, give me a break! This is the most excitement you've ever had, and you know it!"

"I prefer to get my excitement from a book, not by having a gun aimed at my head!"

The conversation slowly devolved into a hushed shouting match between the two, which prompted Quicksilver to slowly shake her head. She had become well accustomed to these kinds of arguments, but they always seemed to give her a processor ache. It wasn't that she was worried about their friendship, deep down she knew that they genuinely cared about one another. It was more the fact that it was usually her that had to settle things to a proper setting, and it looked like this time would be no different. Taking a deep breath, she made her way out of her hiding place, and she started walking towards the large decepticon. Halfway through, she could hear the boys dropping their argument to try and call her back, but she carried on regardless, and she even added a little saunter for added snark. She at last came to a stop just at the ankles of the large beast. It didn't appear to notice her, so she whistled for it's attention. The creature looked about for a moment, and then it angled its long neck so that it was now looking directly at her. It drew its lips back and began to snarl, but Quicksilver remained calm, smiled, and raised her arms submissively.

"Woah, woah, big fella! No need to be hostile. I was just hoping you would do one teensy, weensy, little thing for me."

The big oaf seemed at a loss by her request, and it craned its neck just a bit more so it had a better look at her. Quicksilver raised up one finger, which the oaf followed religiously, and then she pointed to her optics.

"That's right, fella." she continued coaxingly. "Right here. Look directly into my optics. Don't look anywhere else."

The large figure lowered its head just a smidge more so that it and Quicksilver's faces were just a hair's length apart, and they were now looking optics to optics. Then, to the big creature's amazement, the smaller femme's eyes turned from a bright blue to a sharp green, and then a dark light, and then a light pink. Soon, more colors began to appear, and then they began to show up faster and faster, until they were all blurring together in a kaleidoscope of bright lights. Quicksilver was also humming in time with the flashes of color, almost harmonizing with them as she continued her display. Slowly but surely, the larger creature's eyelids began to droop and sag. It opened its maw wide with a noisy yawn, and it began to sway back and forth as it delved deeper and deeper into the beautiful, swirling light. Quicksilver ceased her humming, and, without breaking eye contact, she tenderly placed a hand under the creature's chin.

"Now sleep!" she commanded.

Without so much as a peep, the creature closed its eyes, teetered over to one side, and then collapsed against the ground with a thunderous thud. After a few moments of tense silence, the steady rumble of snoring could be heard from its head. A near instant later, Quicksilver collapsed to the floor in a heap. That was enough to get her two comrades out of hiding, and they rushed over to her side with all due haste.

"Quicksilver, you alright?" Wing Dagger doted as he helped her to a sitting position. "The heck did you just do?"

Quicksilver groaned, and she placed one hand to the side of her head. "Processor over matter. Oof! Gives me such a processor ache, though."

"But what is it?" Wing Dagger pressed.

"Not so loud!" the small femme snapped. "My aching head!'

She rose back to her feet, and Padlock helped her to steady herself.

"As I was saying, processor over matter is a meditation technique created by the Path of Primus. Though predominately pacifistic, the head priests over the abbey developed the technique as to allow one to force their own will over another."

Padlock's brow line rose ever so slightly on one side.

"Wait a minute! Are you trying to say you can…"

Quicksilver raised a finger.

"Let me stop you right there and explain! No, I can not control minds, organic or mechanical alike. I merely extend my will into another individual's mind. If the opposing will is weaker than my own, then I can force them into a hypnotic trance. Lucky for me, this guy has little to nothing going on in his head. So, it wasn't too difficult to get him under. Had it of been a real decepticon, it might have turned out differently."

Wing Dagger looked puzzled.

"A real decepticon?"

Quicksilver looked to him and nodded.

"It's something I've been thinking about ever since the invasion started. The decepticon army, even after Megatron's death and the multiple desertions, was still quite numerous. If this were a revenge attack against Optimus, which makes the most sense, then why have we only encountered three so far? It's a big compound, sure, but this place should be swimming with cons. What's more, since when did the decepticons start working with organics, one of their most hated enemies? Something about all this just seems…I don't know, off."

It did seem kind of strange when Wing Dagger thought of it. These transorganic pretenders seemed reminiscent to stories he had heard about the war, but they didn't quite fit the decepticon mold. They were immensely dangerous, make no doubt, but they seemed so unintelligent. Nothing at all like what the greats of the decepticon hoard would be willing to rally with.

"We'll just have to move forward." he finally deliberated. "Whatever is really going on, it's far more than we're capable of dealing with on our own. Let's board the ship and call for that backup. Prime is counting on us!"

Quicksilver nodded, and she followed him as he lowered the entry ramp with the outer controls, and they started their way into the ship. Padlock, however, remained firmly planted, his optics wide and his jaw agape.

"They're monks that can control people's minds." he said with a stiff deadpan. "Are we seriously not going to discuss this further?"

Quicksilver rapidly stepped down the entry plank, wheeled around Padlock, and she started to forcefully shove him inside of the ship.

For the most part, the old shuttle was quiet. There were no evident signs of a struggle, and it seemed that the vessel was deserted. The lights were on, but nobody seemed to be around. Wing Dagger continued to hold the vanguard, though he no longer seemed as confident as before. He couldn't put his finger on it, but a strange sort of unease had laid claim to his spark. Perhaps his nerves had finally caught up to him, and he began to think about what made his mission really entailed. Optimus Prime really was counting on him; sure, he had Prowl, but who knew how many soldiers these cons actually had. The two bots were old hands at the art of fighting cons, but even they had limits. What's more, there were very few students in the academy that knew anything about fighting. That's not to say none of them ever tried, it was just that nobody really cared now that the war was over. That thought made him worry about the others. Some had been captured, but what if others had actually tried to fight? He and his friends had weapons in their battle, but what about everybody else? What if something had happened? What if maybe…

The sudden sound of clattering, followed by Padlock screaming, caused Wing Dagger to spin about so quickly that he nearly tipped over onto his face.

"What is it? Are we under attack?"

He could see Quicksilver bending down and picking up her recently dropped pistol, and he noticed that Padlock was leaning against a wall with his knees pressed up against his chest.

"We're fine." the femme assured him. "I dropped one of my guns, and Padlock freaked out. Business as usual."

Wing Dagger studied his small green buddy for a moment, and he began to realize that he hadn't been very fair to him. Primus knew it took the command of a Prime to get him out of his room and away from his books, and here he was in the middle of a warzone looking just about ready to go into stasis lock.

"Maybe we should take a break." he suggested. "We've been walking for a while. May as well conserve our strength while it's quiet."

Quicksilver gave him an odd look.

"Stop now? But we're almost there! It's just a straight trek to the bridge."

"I know, I know." Wing Dagger replied coaxingly. "But maybe we need to a take a breather. You know, take stock of the situation, measure out our supplies, give our feet a little cooling time and…"

"It's alright, Dag." Padlock suddenly said, both of his friends looking his way. The green mech was looking somewhat somber with his optics partially dimmed. "I'm sorry if I'm slowing you down, guys. It's just…a lot to process, ya know?"

"You're not slowing us down!" Wing Dagger insisted. "You're just tired is all."

Padlock shook his head.

"No, I'm scared. Scratch that, I'm past scared. I'm mortified! This is literally every single nightmare I've ever had come true."

Quicksilver and Wing Dagger exchanged concerned glances, and then they took a seat on each side of their friend, wrapping an arm around each shoulder in an attempt to comfort their friend.

"Hey, don't feel bad." Quicksilver cooed. "We're all frightened. This isn't exactly something ya deal with every day." She paused. "Anymore."

Padlock sighed, and he got to his feet.

"You guys just don't understand."

"Then explain it to us!" Wing Dagger insisted. "You're always so insistent on keeping things to yourself, Paddy, and it drives me nuts. If something's bothering you, something other than the obvious, then for Primus' sake tell me what's going on!"

Padlock hunched his shoulders, and he took a deep breath. He had been holding this back for so long. As bad as things were, perhaps now was the best time to finally get it off his chest.

"My parents were decepticon sympathizers."

He waited for a while as his friends got their gasps of disbelief out. When they fell silent again, he continued.

"Yeah, I figured you'd react like that. They weren't actually decepticons, just sympathizers to the pre-war decepticon values. You know, a Cybertron without the ruling elite. Shortly after the war began, and Megatron started showing his true colors, my parents skipped the planet, no longer agreeing to Megatron's plans. I don't think I have to tell you that you don't just quit the decepticons, so they were always on the go. It wasn't even for another three thousand years that mine and my brother's protoforms were activated. We finally settled on a small mudball in the middle of nowhere…and that's when they finally caught up."

The meaning behind those last words hit like a hammer against an anvil. Neither Wing Dagger or Quicksilver could even begin to think about what to say in reply.

"We were all split up after that." Padlock went on. "So much shooting, so much shouting, it all still haunts my nightmares. If it hadn't been for an autobot transport vessel just passing by, I wouldn't have even found my way back to Cybertron. I never even looked back. I often wondered if I had of, maybe, just maybe, I could have saved at least one of them. If I wasn't such a coward."

Wing Dagger's head snapped upward at that, and he suddenly felt very offended. He bounded up to his feet, walked over to Padlock, and he placed a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"A coward? You? That's gotta be the most absurd thing I've ever heard!"

Padlock stared at him.

"What?"

Wing Dagger nodded.

"What happened with you and your folks was terrible, but that doesn't make you a coward. Heck, if that were so, then why did you offer your help to Optimus earlier instead of going with Rung and Livewire? Quicksilver and I wouldn't have stopped ya. You more than anyone have the right to run away and hide, but here you are, fighting side by side with us, and putting your life on the line to call for help. If that ain't the definition of courage, then I don't know what is."

"Here! Here!" Quicksilver cheered as she too got to her feet. "You've come a long way already, and I'm sure that your parents and brother, wherever they are now, would be very proud of you."

Padlock looked between his two friends, and he began to feel better. These two gearheads may have been a pain in the tailgate from time to time, but, when the chips were down and things looked bleak, they really were the best of pals to have around. He could hear Wing Dagger cut loose with a hearty laugh, and the larger mech whopped him on the back.

"Now what say we get back to business?" he said with renewed enthusiasm. "The sooner we get done with this, the sooner we can get back to looking for your folks and finding the Knights of Cybertron! I made a promise, and darn it if I'm gonna keep it."

"I'll work with that!" Quicksilver chimed in. "Let's say go!"

"Hey, that's my line!" Wing Dagger chided jokingly.

Padlock couldn't help but laugh, and his spirits now seemed to be lifted. Was he still scared? Of course; that just went without saying. But he had his friends, and he knew that he could handle whatever was ahead of him so long as they had his back. Therefore, with a song in his heart and his head held high, it was he, Padlock, that took the lead as the team descended deeper into the ship and towards the bridge of the ship.


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Ratchet was having a bad day. Oh, sure, he's had some rough times over the countless millennia, but this was a real lulu, even for him. After all, he had just been hunting for medical supplies to restock the Prowl's blasted base, and the last thing he had wanted was to be shot in the back. Or have his unconscious body dragged along the entirety of the ship. Or be bound by ion binders and have a slab of metal bound to his mouth to ensure that he couldn't speak. Or be mocked and scorned and jeered at by the most annoying decepticon in the entirety of the multiverse. Oh, why couldn't it have been Starscream that Prime ripped the spark from? Better yet, why on earth was he even here? What's more, who was the lunatic that was sitting at the ship's computer and sifting through it's records? Why, oh why, had Ratchet even bothered waking up this morning?

He was pulled from his internal grumblings when Starscream chose to once again kick him in the side and laugh.

"It's a lucky thing you're a medic, Ratchet my wizened friend." the flyer jeered at him. "It's gonna take a lot of work to wear away the sting of your most humiliating defeat."

 _Undo my bindings, and I'll show you something worse than a sting!_ Ratchet thought to himself as Starscream kicked him one last time. On the other side of the room, the other decepticon, whom Ratchet didn't recognize, looked up from his work and called for Starscream.

"This would be going a lot more quickly and smoothly if you would get over here and help me, you know! Unlike myself, you are actually familiar with autobot computer systems, and we're on a tight schedule as it is."

Starscream shrugged, and he sauntered away from Ratchet, whom forced himself to a kneeling position. He made a mental note that the instant he got loose from these bonds, he was going to rip off the plate they put over his mouth and then shove it down Starscream's throat before beating him to death with his own arms.

….

From their hiding place in the hall, Wing Dagger, Padlock, and Quicksilver observed the scene in tense silence. They had already suspected that there would be someone waiting for them on the bridge, but they could never have expected to see the former decepticon second in command himself. It caused no small amount of unease amongst them, and Padlock once again began to tremble, although he was trying hard to conceal it.

"This," he began, "is bad."

"That's for sure." Wing Dagger agreed with a gulp. "And they got Ratchet, too, which only makes things more difficult. Hey, QS, think you can use that mind over matter trick on them?"

The femme shook her head.

"That requires a tremendous amount of focus, Dag, and I'm still worn out from last time. What's more, I would wager that Starscream's will is stronger than mine."

"Which means we're gonna have to fight smarter rather than harder." Padlock mused to himself. "Hey, Quicksilver, you've still got that grappler, right?"

She nodded.

"Good." He took in a deep breath. "Guys, I've got the surprise of a lifetime for you. I think I have a plan."

…

Ratchet was still thinking up a wide sum of terrible things he was going to do to Starscream after he got loose when he felt a tug on his ion binders. He looked up, and his optics went wide at the sight of Wing Dagger. He began to grunt out a command for him to run, but the boy put a finger to his lips for silence. He then pointed off to the side, and Ratchet gagged when he saw Padlock crawling on his stomach towards Starscream and the other con.

Padlock was literally battling against the urge to get up and run away as he slowly made his way towards his targets with one end of Quicksilver's grappling hook in hand. The mortal terror had long since settled in, but he willed himself to keep moving forward with his plan. All he had to do was tie his end of the grappling hook around the two cons' ankles, and then give Quicksilver the signal. Simple, but risky. All it would take was for one of them to look down, and he would be finished. At last, he was now directly behind Starscream. He started by gently threading the hook of the grappler around the seated con's left ankle before looping it around Starscream's ankle in a sort of figure eight. He was almost there. All he had to do was thread the knot and…

 _KLINK!_

Padlock's face slumped. In his haste, he hadn't been paying attention, and his hand had knock against Starscream's leg with an audible click. Padlock suddenly felt eyes on him, and he looked up to find that he was now looking optic to optic with Starscream. The decepticon sneered at him, and then he reached down and lifted him up.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?"

Padlock tried his best to call for Quicksilver, but panic caused his words to hang up in his throat and he couldn't get them out. From his seat, Leozack looked up, and he spied Wing Dagger still prying at the ion bindings around Ratchet.

"Starscream, there's another one!"

When all eyes landed on Wing Dagger, Padlock finally managed to wriggle loose from Starscream's grip, and his words broke loose.

"QUICKSILVER, NOW!"

From the hall, Quicksilver hit the quick recoil on her grappler. The wire tugged with an unexpected strength, and the next thing Starscream and Leozack knew they were pulled the floor and being dragged off. In quick retaliation, Starscream produced a knife and severed the wire, cutting him and Leozack free, but it had been enough of a distraction for Wing Dagger to break Ratchet's bonds, and the old field medic rocketed to his feet, ripped off the plate over his mouth, and then he pounced on Starscream with a guttural roar. Wing Dagger followed behind and tackled Leozack, wrapping his arms and legs tightly around him to hold his arms down.

"Padlock, go!" he ordered his friend. "Get on the horn and call for help! We've got this!"

The green mech nodded furiously, and he made a mad dash for the communications console. Leozack managed to momentarily pry Wing Dagger's arms away from his body, and he willed Leobreaker to eject from his chest.

"Leobreaker! Silence the green one!"

The minicon lion roared, and then it charged toward Padlock. But just as he was nipping at his heels, Quicksilver arrived and started shooting at him with her pistols. Padlock finally made it to the comm's chair, and he began to furious punch in the keys that operated the long-range transceiver. Back with the decepticons, they had finally managed to remove their rivals from their respective forms. Ratchet effortlessly landed on his feet, his war time reflexes kicking in tried and true, but Wing Dagger joined him with an unceremonious faceplant. Ratchet scowled at him, and he yanked him back to his feet.

"You kids need to get out of here!" he ordered with a growl. "This ain't no place for sparklings. I don't even understand why you're here in the first place."

"Optimus' orders!" Wing Dagger said curtly as he got up and brandished his sword and shield. "Sorry, doctor, but until Padlock can get that signal out for back up, we're staying right here."

Ratchet growled in his throat, and he placed a hand over his face as a throbbing pain formed between his optics. He really shouldn't have got up this morning.

…

When Optimus and Deathsaurus' weapons met, it shook the very space around them, kicking sand and discarded autobot bodies in all directions. Their eyes were locked, the shine of blue and red forming purple between them, and they pushed hard against one another to give themselves an advantage. Finally, with no end to their power struggle in sight, Deathsaurus opened his wings and flew up into the air. Optimus retaliated by recalling his rifle, firing several rapid shots. Deathsaurus, while large and bulky, proved to have quite the finesse in the art of flying. Like a falcon, he darted swiftly through the air and narrowly avoided each of Optimus' shots.

When the autobot paused to reload, Deathsaurus swept down and brandished his flail, striking Optimus squarely in the head and knocking him to the ground. He then touched down and straddled Optimus, repeatedly bashing his fists against the autbot's face with powerful, critical strikes. Optimus brought up his arms to defend himself, and he straightened out his legs as best as possible, just so that the wheels in his heels were flat against the ground. With rubber squealing and kicking up sand, Optimus raced out from underneath Deathsaurus, and he was quickly on his feet once again. Having misplaced his rifle, he formed his ax once more and brandished it against Deathsaurus' back, bringing up a shower of sparks. The decepticon tyrant cried out with rage, and he whirled about on Optimus and delivered another staggering blow with his mace. It sent Optimus flying backwards and into the side of the decepticon ship. Momentarily dazed, Optimus' vision cleared just in time to see Deathsaurus forego his mace and aim a fist directly for Optimus chest as he came charging forward.

This was Optimus chance! He quickly rolled to the side, and Deathsaurus was moving too quickly to stop. His fist went straight through the armor plating, and now the decepticon was completely immobilized. To seal the deal and hopefully end the fight, Optimus hefted his ax and then delivered a sharp chop to the con's arm, cutting it cleanly in half. Deathsaurus cried out, and he staggered backwards as he clutched his new stump. He stood there grueling for a moment, and then he began to chuckle.

"I have to admit," he said, sounding somewhat pleased, "you are quite formidable for a false prime. I had expected you to fall after the first couple of blows like your black and white comrade, but you are indeed something different."

Optimus put his ax away, and he stared the larger bot down.

"I have fought many like you for several millennia in a war that nearly destroyed my home." he stated darkly. "I am more than knowledgeable in the ways of warfare. However, I have been forced to constantly relearn my distaste for death over the war's length, and even today I can feel the bad oil racing through my tubes. So, I am going to give you this one chance. Stand down and surrender. I assure you that it will be the most merciful end you could meet."

Deathsaurus replied with a long, throaty laugh, and he eyed Optimus with a predatory gaze.

"Not only strong, but a comic, too. Perhaps I will rip you're head off and attach it to a generator so that I will may listen to your humor at my leisure."

Optimus shifted uncomfortably, and he reformed his ax.

"I suppose that means you wish to continue."

"Far more than that, false prime." Deathsaurus chuckled darkly. "Now, I shall show you the full extent of my abilities. Tigertron! Airrazor! Hunt!"

The two sections of his chest plate suddenly exploded, and they shifted and morphed into a tiger and falcon, respectively. Before Optimus knew what was going on, they had set upon him, the falcon clawing at his chest while the tiger gnawed at his legs. As he fought to fend the fearsome beasts off, Deathsaurus watched with mild amusement as his pets tore his opponent apart. He then bent down and retrieved his mace. He went charging up towards Optimus, whistling to his pets, and the two split up as Deathsaurus brought his mace down hard against Optimus' head. The blow sent the autobot leader flying backwards and landing with a splat in the sand. Airrazor and Tigerclaw then swooped in and grabbed a hold of each arm and pulled them apart to hold him still. Deathsaurus then towered over the fallen bot, looking quite pleased with the sudden turn of events.

"I must commend you, false prime." he said. "You are the first after many an opponent to force me to call upon my pets. What's more, you even marred my body in a way no opponent ever could. Using my eagerness to sever one of my own arms. Spectacular! I'm almost sorry that the battle must end. Almost."

Optimus growled in his throat as he glared at him through his bleary vision.

"If you expect me to beg for my life," he coughed and wheezed, "then I can assure you that you'll be sorely disappointed."

Deathsaurus chuckle, and he gave his head a slow shake.

"Oh, no, false prime. I don't want you to beg."

He reared back his hand and aimed his mace for Optimus' chest.

"I want you to die."

With that, Deathsaurus began to mercilessly smash his medieval weapon against the fallen prime's chest, and with each blow Optimus could feel his spark sputter and flicker and slowly fade.

…

Back with the sparklings and Ratchet, the entire bridge of the autobot ship had been thrown into utter chaos. As Padlock was frantically typing on the communication console trying to get the message out, his two friends and Ratchet were fighting for their lives against the decepticons.

Wing Dagger was squared off with Leozack, whom was now wielding a long spear and wielding it quite well. The red, white, and blue mech found himself using his shield more than his sword as he did his best to hold back the superior warrior. Unfortunately, his shield wasn't designed for such stressful combat, and the next thing he knew it snapped cleanly in half, and he was knocked into a nearby console. He got up shakily, but none the less willing as he took his blade in two hands.

"Is that all you got, decepti-creep?"

Leozack raised his spear so that it was perfectly level, and then it split apart into multiple segments with a current of energy holding the pieces together. The spear was now a multi-segmented nunchaku. Leozack whirled the whip like nunchaku around his body with grace and a hint of menace, and he finished with a fearsomely intimidating pose. Wing Dagger's shoulders sagged.

"Ok." the young mech groaned. "Now, you're just showing off."

Leozack responded by lashing out his nunchaku, and the end wound around Wing Dagger's throat. Wing Dagger choked and scratched at the binding, and Leozack began to reel him in for a final blow.

As for Starscream, he was, rather comically, running around in circles with an angry Ratchet swinging a wrench at his head.

"Come on, Ratchet!" he called back to the angry medic. "I was just joking! Don't tell me you didn't grow some semblance of a sense of a humor over the billions of years."

"Oh, I've got a sense of humor, alright!" Ratchet snarled back. "In fact, once I rip off your wings and stuff them down your throat, that'll be just about the most hilarious thing I've ever seen!"

Meanwhile, Quicksilver was having about as much luck shooting at Leobreaker. The mechanical lion kept a fair distance from her pistols range, but every so often he would break through and snap at her ankles before she could run him off again.

"Hey, Padlock!" she called over her shoulder. "How much longer is this going to take?"

She could hear the green mech growl in his throat.

"I am projecting a signal through billions of lightyears over a secure line with a very complicated coding sequence. I'm going as fast as I possibly can."

He picked up a headset lying on the dash of the console, and he started screaming into the microphone.

"This is Outpost Rillick in star system Hydrasia. We are experiencing an omega level alert. We are under attack by decepticons! I repeat, we are under attack! So, somebody answer the friggin' communicator!"

There was a brief slur of static, and then, at long last, there was a reply on the other end.

 _YOW! No need to twist and shout, my man! This is your bot Blaster meeting with you on the soundwaves._

Padlock could have fainted with relief, but he held himself together.

"Blaster! Praise Primus I've finally gotten through. It's me, Padlock. We're under decepticon attack, and Optimus requires immediate assistance. Seriously, send help!"

Leozack had Wing Dagger by the throat by now, but he looked up towards Padlock, having heard Blaster's loud voice through the headset speakers.

"Oh, no you don't!" he said as he tossed Wing Dagger to the floor. "Leobreaker, to me!"

The lion obediently danced away from Quicksilver, and he leapt into his master's arms. His front legs folded into his body, and his back legs connected to form the grip and trigger of a gun as he opened his mouth wide to form the barrel. Leozack then leveled his new lion blaster at Padlock's back. Wing Dagger scrambled onto his hands and knees just in time to see him start to pull the trigger.

"NO!"

From then, everything seemed to be move in slow motion. Starscream tripped and Ratchet tackled him to the floor. Quicksilver went rigid as a massive ball of plasma went sailing out of Leobreaker's mouth. Padlock spun about in his chair, and his optics grew wide at the oncoming attack. He switched off his optics and braced himself for the impact. There was an explosion, followed by a blast of searing heat, and then it was all over.

Padlock switched on his optics, and to his surprise he found that he was completely unharmed. However, his spark dimmed when he realized why. Standing over him with his arms stretched wide was Wing Dagger. He was looking him dead in the optics, and Padlock could see tendrils of smoke and small sparks rising from his back.

"D-dag?"

Wing Dagger offered his friend one last, sad smile, and he folded one hand into a thumbs-up.

"When you find them, tell your folks I said hi."

Then, Wing Dagger slumped over and fell onto his side, and the gaping hole in his back was now in plain sight. Padlock could only stare at him in a shocked silence, his entire body numb. He could see Quicksilver screaming for Wing Dagger out of the corner of his eye, but he didn't acknowledge her. In his ear, he could hear Blaster asking if he was alright and was saying that help was on its way, but he didn't care. He just stared at Wing Dagger: his best friend who had taken a bullet for him.

Without a word, Ratchet removed himself from Starscream and rushed over to the fallen mech's side. The flyer wasted no time getting to his feet and moving next to Leozack.

"We need to get out of here!" he wailed. "Any moment, now, we'll be up to our audio receptors in autobots! Let's go!"

Leozack growled in his throat. He hadn't managed to hack the autobot database, and to leave now would mean to leave empty handed. That was a sin that Leozack would never commit. He spied the clearly distraught femme, and he decided that she would have to do. Taking the last of his ion binders from his waste, he quickly looped it around Quicksilver and pulled her close.

"Follow me, and the femme dies!" he exclaimed, and then he and Starscream bolted through the bridge's doorway.

Padlock saw him do it, and he rose to his feet. Before even he knew what he was doing, he started after the two cons as fast as his legs could carry him. Ratchet called after him, but by then he was long gone. Ratchet grumbled under his breath, but he went back to work trying to stabilize Wing Dagger. The bot was still alive, albeit faintly, but that also meant there was a chance. He hadn't lost a sparkling yet, and Primus help him he wasn't going to start now.

As for Padlock himself, he was running as fast as his short legs would allow. He couldn't transform because of his damaged T-cog, but he had discovered a strength he never knew he had. Wing Dagger had risked everything to save him, and he wasn't going to let that sacrifice be in vain by letting these monsters take the only friend he had left. He didn't know what he would do if he caught up to them, but he was beyond the point of caring.

"Let's say go." he whispered to himself, and he prayed dearly that he could do something.


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Deathsaurus took a step back to admire his work. At his feet with both arms still pinned within the jaws and talons of his pets was the once mighty Optimus Prime. He was a horrible and Energon leaking mess with his face plate all but bashed inward, part of his chest ripped opened, and he had a deliciously nasty gash running across his midsection. He was still alive, Deathsaurus wasn't quite finished toying with him, but he had long since slipped into stasis lock.

He called off his pets, and then he bent down and picked up hid prey by the throat with his one good hand.

"I don't know if you can hear me, false prime," he said with words dripping with wickedness, "but you can take heart in that your suffering is close to an end. I need now only decide how to finish you, and I intend to take my time."

With that, he let go, and Optimus once again sunk down onto the sand. Deathsaurus then retrieved his flail, and he studied Optimus intently. How did he want to finish him? Should he take his time and just beat him down to scrap metal? Or would he show a mercy uncharacteristic to himself and just rip out his still fluxing spark?

He was fixing to go with with the prior choice, but he stopped suddenly when he heard someone call his name. He looked back towards the complex, and he could see Starscream, Leozack, and Birdbrain of the Dinoforce storming towards him at great speed. As birdbrain boarded the ship, the two flyers rushed up to Deathsaurus, and he took note of the unconscious femme under Leozack's arm.

""I bring grave news to you, milord." The Decepticon lieutenant reported. "I fear our mission has ended in failure. The autobots have managed to send a distress call! Reinforcements are on the way!"

Starscream nodded in affirmation.

"We need to get out of here, or we'll surely be obliterated by an orbital assault!"

Deathsaurus, did his part, addressed this serious bit of news with a sort of threatening calm. Though his fact did not such as twitch, it was obvious that his unchanging expression bellied a horrible wrath.

"This level of failure, I would expect from someone like Starscream." He said while shooting a look at the flyer, causing him to squeak. "But you, Leozack, my dear second in command. You are meant to complete your objectives without fail. I am highly disappointed."

He tossed a glance towards the prone form of Optimus, and he hummed thoughtful.

"Never the less, the dinoforce have succeffully capture many that resides here and have tried them into the ship. I too shall be claiming a prize this day. Starscream, lift the blasphemer so that I may administer his final reward."

Starscream dutifully obey, and he heaved and hugged as he lifted Optimus up to a kneeling position. He too was disappointed. Not necessarily for the situation, though that did play a part, but more towards Optimus' defeat. The Autobot leader was a mess, and the most damage Starscream could see on Deathsaurus was that he had lost his right arm. Honestly, after all he had been through with Megatron, Optimus should have put up a better fight. Oh, well. At least he could one day go back to Planet Styx and gloat before his fellow Decepticons about his pivotal role in the death of Optimus Prime. With a few minor omissions, of course.

Meanwhile, Padlock had finally made it out of the complex and was fiercely looking about for his quarry. He then spied the unfolding scene, and his spark nearly ceased fluxing at the sight of the beaten to near death Prime. What was worse, his assailant, a one armed abomination that put Megatron's fearsome looks to shame, was raising his one good arm to finish the job. Padlock didn't have time to think. At his waist were all three flash bangs, and it was time to put them to good use. Offering one quick prayer to Primus, he unclipped the flash bangs, and he began to scream wildly as he charged into the scene.

Starscream was the first to see him, and his optics went wide when he saw the short green mech erupting into view.

"Mad bomber! Run!"

He let go of Optimus, who fell back and crashed into Leozack who, in turn, dropped Quicksilver. Deathsaurus backpedalled away and looked up, and Padlock seized the moment. He popped all three pins, and then he hurled the three explosives as hard as he could. All three went off in perfect succession, and there was a bright flash of light and sound. All three cons scatter and fell to the ground, crying out and clutching the sides of their heads in pain. Padlock raved past them quickly, and he dove to Optimus' side. He didn't have much time, so he quickly got to work covering Optimus' body with sand. Moving him certainly wasn't an option, so he could only hope he could bury him well enough to not be found. When he felt he had done a good enough job, he turned his sights on Quicksilver, and he scooped her up into his shoulders. If he was lucky, he would be able to get her inside. If he was lucky, the reinforcements he called for would arrive and blow the Decepticons to smithereens. If he was lucky, Wing Dagger would be alive and drag him and Quicksilver into another hair-brained adventure come the next morning.

Unfortunately, Padlock wasn't a lucky kind of guy.

The first sign that he was in big trouble was the powerful blow that struck him in the back and knocked him down. Then next thing he knew, he was snatched up off the ground by the throat, and he was brought face to face by the biggest Decepticon he had get see. He didn't look happy, not happy at all. The titanic tyrant cut his eyes front side to side, and then he brought Padlock closer.

"Where is he?" His tone spoke of murder. "What have you done with the false prime, Optimus?"

"Up your tailpipe and around your carburetor!" Padlock spat. It was a childish remark, but it was the best he could come up with. He had long since lost any and all sense of sanity.

At this time, Leozack has recovered, and he noticed the still unconscious form of Quicksilver. However, what had caught his attention was a compartment in her arm that had come open, and the tiny cylinder that was now lying in the sand. He trotted over, bent down,, and he picked it up. He identified it as an old data scroll. His optics slowly became brighter, and a smile carved its way across his lips. He raised a hand to get his master's attention, but he froze when a large shadow looked overhead. He looked up, as did Deathsaurus and Starscream, and they could all see a spaceship just within the planet's orbit. Leozack could hear Starscream squealing with fright, but he ignored him and took his place at his master's side.

"It would appear that the Autobot reinforcements have arrived." He said plainly. Deathsaurus said nothing. "Now, far be it from me to suggest it, my lord, but I think we should take up and go. Look at this."

He handed the scroll towards him, and Deathsaurus dropped Padlock to accept it. He opened it, and like his subordinate his optics brightened. He quickly tucked the scroll away, and then he kicked Padlock over to Leozack.

"Take him and the femme into the ship but put them into the isolation cells instead of the main prison hold. I'll have use for them later."

The decepticon second in command nodded his consent, gathered up the two hostages, and then started off for the ship with Starscream in tow. Deathsaurus then looked to the sky towards the autobot ship.

"I shall deal with this matter personally."

He cut loose with a guttural cry, and then he began to transform. The end result was that of a fearsome dragon. Kicking off, he took to the sky at an incredible rate of speed.

…...

Up above the planet's atmosphere, the autobot ship Destiny's Glory was perched and ready to dive in and attack. At the helm was none other than Ironhide, chief of all Cybertron's military. With him was science officer Perceptor, the nimble scout Bumblebee, and, finally, the faux talking Jazz.

"Status report!" the grizzled soldier barked.

From his chair, Bumblebee busily typed down on his console.

"Communications are still down." He called back. "This place is busted up like an old oil can on a Saturday night. Good grief! I almost don't want to see what caused all of this."

"You ain't trippin' there, dog." Jazz chimed in grimmly. "It almost looks like that time we invited Grimlock to karaoke night. Worst idea I've ever had, bar none."

"Belay the yap, you two." Ironhide growled. "We've got a lot of work ahead of us. Perceptor take us down!"

The red mech nodded, and he began to place the ship into a nosedive, but, suddenly, the bridge was painted red as a warning siren screamed to life. An instant second later, the entire ship rocked madly. Perceptor clung tightly to his seat, and as he looked to the console over his station his optics went wide.

"We have a two hull breaches, one in the bottom of the ship and the other in the top!"

"Sounds like a bullet just went through us." Ironhide grunted as he sat up in his chair. "What the frag was that?! Somebody, anybody, get it on screen!"

"Hold your dog tags, big red! Your man, Jazz, is on it."

A screen lowered from the roof, and an image began to take shape. As best as they could tell, it was a bestial shaped object zipping and weaving around the ship at incredible speed. It suddenly stopped short, opened its mouth, and then it sent a powerful burst of energy towards the ship, sending it rocking once again.

"Take evasive action!" Ironhide ordered as the ship convulsed and shook. "Jazz, activate weapons! Blow that thing to space dust!"

"You got it, boss bot!" Jazz said.

Along the outer hull of the ship, several turrets sprouted. At his station, Jazz concentrated on the screen before him as the targeting reticle traced after the flying object. As he zoomed in, he could make out a faint sign of purple. Another flyby later, he could finally see what it was.

"Guys. You ain't gonna believe this, but this creep's a Con!"

A stunned silence filled the bridge of the Destiny's Glory. Decepticon. For nearly six hundred billion years, it had been a word synonymous with fear, dread, despair, and especially fear. With the war over, many autobots, three on that very bridge in particular, had hoped to just put everything behind them and put away those that had surrendered. But, that didn't mean they hadn't reserved some measure of inhibition in regards to those that were still out there. Was this a psychotic former con out for revenge after such a long hiatus? Surely not.

"Bumblebee!" Ironhide barked after regaining his nerve. "Get on the long-range scanners! Figure out who this joker is!"

The yellow bot nodded. He once again typed furiously onto the console, and before long his sensors got a lock. As the readout came through, though, he frowned.

"This has to be a glitch. I'm not getting anything on this thing. No records, no history, not even a name: this guy is a ghost."

"You got that right, Bee!" Jazz growled through grit teeth as his weapons finally gained a lock. Without the slightest hesitation, squeezed the trigger, and several salvos of photon rounds were unloaded on his target, all hitting their marks.

"Hit confirmed!" Perceptor declared.

"I can see that, PC." Jazz grumbled. "But we got a problem. Look!"

Sure enough, the target was still floating there, looking not much worse for wear.

As for Deathsaurus himself, he gave himself a quick shake, and he scowled at the ship. He cursed his carelessness, and his wounds from his battle with Optimus were starting to fester, which only made him more irritable. What's more, he could hear on his commlink that his crew was taking off. He wanted to toy with these fools more, but he didn't have the time.

"Tigerttron! Airrazor! Disable their defenses!"

A section on his back opened, and the two minicons came roaring out and tearing towards the autobot ship. One by one, they began to take out the turrets, and Deathsaurus used the distraction as a chance to wind around behind the ship for a clean shot at the engines. There were four of them, two bunched together on either side of the ship. A weak design flaw that even he could detect. He set his sights on the left stabilizer, channeled a burst of energy into his throat, and then let it go. There was a brilliant explosion of light, and the two small engines were no more.

Back on the bridge, the four autobots had to cling to their seats as the Destiny's Glory lurched to the left.

"Primary engines one and two are gone!" Perceptor reported with heavy panic. "The left stabilizers are failing!"

"I've lost guns, too!" Jazz announced. "Dang minicons tore into them like an all you can eat buffet."

"I've got worse news, fellas." Bumblebee chimed in. "I just picked up an unidentified transport vessel leaving the planet's atmosphere. I'm detecting several autobot life signs onboard, and, fellas, one of them is Rung!"

"It must be the students from the accademy." Perceptor said with a gasp. "We must do something!"

"Oh, we'll be doing something, alright." Ironhide grunted grimly.

"And what is that?"

"Fall."

By then, the ship and her hapless crew had leaned too far into the planet's atmosphere, and now they were in a free fall for the planet's surface. The four autobots clung tightly to their stations as the ship began to spin madly, and Ironhide began barking orders in vain to try and get the ship under control.

On the ground, Ratchet was furiously digging Optimus' body out of the sand when he heard the whine of dying engines, and he looked up in time to see the large ship sail through the sky before crashing into the dune sea just beyond the compound. He just stayed there kneeling in the sand, staring off in the distance where they had crashed. At last, his face slumped, and he groaned.

"It's just one of those days."

…...

The first sensation he felt as consciousness reclaimed him was that of a bright light. He had to squint his optics for a moment, but then he could make out a large shape. The more his focus centered, the clearer the image became. Before long, he was looking up into the tired, but thankful looking, face of Ratchet. The old medic extended a finger over his eye, and a light came on from the tip.

"Dilation looks normal." He said with his usual, nonexistent cheer. "You look awful, Prime."

Optimus did his best to offer up a laugh, but instead it came out as a weak cough.

"You should...see the other guy."

"Oh, I got a good enough idea." Ratchet grumbled as he shut off the light and then elevated his patient's recharge slab so that he was at least sitting up. "After all, you should see what he did to Ironhide's ship."

Optimus' optics went wide.

"Ironhide?!"

"Relax, don't move! He's fine. So are Bumblebee, Perceptor, and Jazz. Apparently, they were already in the quadrant went the call went out. Their ship crashed, but they jumped just before impact. They're lucky to be alive."

Optimus did his best to move and try to get on his feet, but he had little to no strength in his battered limbs.

"The students! Prowl! What about them?! What about the one's that challenged Deathsaurus? Maybe some of them survived..."

"No, Prime. They didn't."

Optimus suddenly went rigid, and he looked at Ratchet. The old mech didn't meet his gaze, but his sadness seemed to waft through the air in waves. Optimus sunk back onto his slab, what little strength he had left just draining from his limbs.

"What about the students?" Optimus asked feebly. "Did any of them escape?"

Ratchet started to give his head a weary shake, stopped, and then rubbed the back of his neck.

"Besides Prowl, there was one, survivor, although that is a term I use very loosely. One of the three you sent to the ship to call for help took a powerful burst of plasma in the back while saving one of his comrades. Kinda reminded me of you, frankly. I've got him in the other room and stable, but, if I'm honest Prime, it doesn't look good."

It was with that final bit of news that the last of Optimus' hope died. His mind drifted back to his battle with Deathsaurus, and the tyrant's words once again echoed through his head.

"You alone are what I wanted, Optimus. Any that have perished here are not on my hands, but yours."

At first, Optimus had passed it off as a poetic excuse, but now, in the wake of all this death instruction, he truly saw the truth in those words. Had he never have come here, Deathsuarus would have had no reason to come here as well. Because of Optimus' carelessness, several innocent sparklings were either dead, captured, or critically wounded, and it was all his fault. The guilt quickly became like a crushing weight, and he placed a hand over his face as the despair began to mount.

"I wish to be alone." He finally said. "Please leave me, Ratchet."

The old medic nodded, and he started for the door.

"I'll come to check on you later." He promised, and then he vanished into the hall.

Waiting for him was the three of the four survivors of the Destiny's Glory, all of whom were wearing long frowns and other looks of disgust. Perceptor wasn't among them as he was investigating something he had found. When Ratchet came forward, Bumblebee was the first to address him.

"How is he?" He asked.

Ratchet gave his head a shake.

"He's stable, awake, and absolutely crushed. It's obvious he blames himself for all that's happened, and there isn't a thing in my doctor's bag that's gonna make that go away."

Ironhide rumbled with a snort.

"Well it sure ain't Prahm's fault this happened. I had Jazz do a quick sweep of the compound an hour ago. There wasn't any anti air defenses. No automated patrol drones. Heck, there aren't even any sprinklers in this rat hole for fires. This ain't no accident. Prowl had this place set up to be attacked."

Ratchet visibly flinched.

"Wait a minute! Now you guys aren't honestly saying that Prowl was in on this?"

Jazz shook his head.

"Nah, man, don't be buggin'. What big red is trying to say is that Prowl made it to where if they were attacked, the kids would have no choice but to fight. His way of doing on the job training, I suppose."

While somewhat relieved, Ratchet couldn't help but growl in his throat.

"Idiot! It's a good thing he's in a coma right now, otherwise I might kill him myself. All because he can't let things go."

"Doesn't look like he was wrong, though." Bumblebee muttered dejectedly, earning him everyone's attention. "He was right, I guess. The cons are back in full force, and we were caught with our pants down, and I don't even wear pants."

"Only these aren't decepticons!"

The group looked up, and they could see Perceptor rushing up to them. To their shock, he was carrying a dismembered arm.

"What the frag is that?" Ironhide asked, his voice carrying a small hint of disgust.

"And what's this about them not being cons?" Jazz added.

"This," Perceptor said while holding up the dismembered appendage for all to see, "is the arm of the bot that so fiercely damaged Optimus, as well as our ship. I found it when I was I was investigating the area where the enemy's ship had been. I was naturally intrigued by the metal that composed of the outer armor as it does not bare any semblance to any alloy I am familiar with. It's light, yet durable. Sturdy, yet flexible. I would simply love to get a hold of the smith who forged this marvel and learn the secrets of how it..."

"PERCEPTOR!" Ironhide bellowed, pulling the red scientist out of his excited chatter. "Would'ja mind wrapping this up? What's your point?"

Perceptor rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, and he offered his friends a smile.

"Sorry about that. It was all just so fascinating." He paused, and then his face became dark. "It is also, somewhat, terrifying. The armor plating is fairly new, but the arm underneath is literally ancient. I used the lab on Optimus' ship to carbonate it, and the results were staggering. This bot, whoever he was, is quite old. In fact, I'm quite certain he was forged during the age of the Thirteen Primes. The time before the first Golden Age."

His four comrades collectively gasped, and Bumblebee let loose a low whistle.

"That...is pretty dang old."

Jazz hummed thoughtfully.

"It doesn't seem possible, but that would mean he was from before the war. But if that's the case, why was he flying Decepticon colors."

"That's something else I was looking into." Perceptor said. "A sort of thesis I've been working on called "The Origins of the Decepticons". Megatron derived both name and his faction from Megatronus, the fallen prime and the first recorded Decepticon. However, Megatron wasn't the first to honor the fallen prime. In fact, all thirteen primes had a cult dedicated to them in one way or another, and all of them had a symbol. Ironically, the Autobot insignia belonged to Prima."

"So, wait a minute!" Ironhide suddenly cut in. "Are you telling me that this joker isn't a Decepticon like we've been fighting for billions of years, but is, instead, some kind of zealot of a long-forgotten cult?"

"In so many words, yes." Perceptor replied with a small shrug.

"Wonderful." Ironhide grumbled, and he began to pinch the bridge of his nose. "This whole screwball situation is starting to give me a processor ache. In spite of what we now know about that guy, we still no jack about who he is, where he came from, why he's here, and, more importantly, where he went with those kids."

None of them had an answer to that. After a long moment of silence and some contemplation, Ironhide sighed and he straightened his back.

"Ok, here's what we're gonna do. Bee, head down to Optimus' ship and get on the horn. Call for any and all Autobots that are free and able to help. We're gonna need it. Jazz, Perceptor, I want the two of you to scour this place from top to bottom. I don't care how small it may be, if you think it's evidence pick it up. We meet back in the courtyard after any and all reinforcement arrives, and maybe by then either Prime will be back on his feet, or I'll have a genuine idea of what to do. Roll out!"

"Roll out!" The three bots chimed in unison, and they set out to fulfill their duties.

This left Ironhide and Ratchet alone in the hall, with nothing but the faint sound of the medical equipment in Optimus' room filling the air. Eventually, Ironhide, too, started down the hall.

"Where are you going?" Ratchet asked.

Ironhide stopped, and he looked back to the old medic.

"Later on, I'm going to help Jazz and Perceptor look for evidence."

"But right now?" Ratchet pressed.

"I'm going to pray. I've never really been the religious type, you know, but if just one of these new cons could tear through bots like Prowl and Optimus, and then rip through a space cruiser with one arm missing, then I think we're gonna need all the help we can get."

Ratchet could only nod and let the bot go on his way. When he was alone, he slumped up against a wall and placed a hand over his face. Everything was happening too fast, and he was slowly losing his grip on things. Optimus was a mess, physically and psychologically, four of his closest friends had nearly bought it, another friend had clearly lost his mind, and he was possibly gonna have to call one of his favorite students after millions of years without seeing her to tell her that her little boy may not be coming home. In many ways, it was more than he could bare.

"I'm just getting too old for this scrap." He muttered, and then he sunk to the floor...and he began to cry.


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 9

Quicksilver's optics sparked once or twice as she tried to rouse herself from slumber. She groaned as she placed a hand to her head. Her memory circuits sparked madly as she tried to remember where she was and what had happened. As she allowed herself the time to think, she began to recall what had happened. She was on Optimus' ship helping her friends to send a message. They had been under attack by decepticons, and Starscream of old war fame was there, too. She remembered gunshot, followed by a blow to the head. Had she been injured? No, she felt a bit dazed, but she wasn't hurt too severely.

She took a better look at her surroundings. It was some sort of cell by the looks of things. About midsized with a wall of energy acting as the door to her cell door. So she was a prisoner. Starscream or that other con from before must have captured her. Her optics went wide, and she looked to one of her arms. To her mounting horror, the secret compartment in her arm was sitting wide open, and her map, her precious wonderful map, was nowhere to be seen. She scrambled about and fell onto her hands and knees looking for it. They couldn't have taken it! They just couldn't have. But try as hard as she might, it was nowhere to be found. She trembled fiercely as the stress of the moment began to flood her spark, and then she tossed back her head and she screamed. She screamed, and she screamed, and she screamed as total anguish erupted from her throat.

"Hey! Keep it down! I'm trying to sleep here!"

The sudden noise caused her to freeze. She looked up, and she looked out her cell door. On the other side of the room was another cell and sitting huddled in a corner was none other than Padlock. The small green mech looked as though he had been set upon by a swarm of scraplets, and he appeared to be leaking energon.

Quicksilver scrambled to her door, trying to get as close to him as she could.

"Are you ok? What happened?"

Padlock shifted from his spot on the wall, and he pulled himself closer.

"The cons captured us. After they tossed you into that cell, their boss decided to treat me to some good old fashioned Decepticon hospitality, which entails of slamming a guy against a wall one hundred and thirty-seven times. I know because I counted them out."

Quicksilver winced and grimaced as the image of a burly looking con three times her poor friend's size slammed him against a wall of solid steel. But that left a question in her mind.

"Why are we here? Shouldn't they have put us with the others?"

Padlock started to answer, but he was cut short when the door leading to the cell block slid open. In stepped Starscream, the lion themed con from the fight on the ship, and the biggest Decepticon Quicksilver has ever seen. He was a massive creature in cracked azure armor. It appeared that he had just been in a massive fight, as every square inch of his body had been either bashed in, torn off, or melded together. There was, however, one part of his body that was all shiny and knew. His left hand, more accurately a three-pronged claw, appeared to be a prosthetic replacing a limb that had been severed off recently. However, what really caught her attention was what that hand was holding. It was her map!

"Hey!" She called out, rushing to the door of her cell. "That's mine! Give it back!"

Padlock looked as though he was about to short circuit.

"QS! Can it before he cans you!"

Deathsaurus shot Padlock a look, making him shrivel up, and then he looked to Quicksilver. The femme looked at him with a defiant sneer, her tiny fists quivering with insurmountable rage. He sized her up, and then he snorted.

"This one. Bring her out."

Leozack wordlessly approached the cell and entered the code into the pin pad, disabling the energy field that kept Quicksilver inside. Immediately, the femme leapt from her cell in an attempt to tackle the larger con and reclaim her missing property. She didn't get far, however. Leozack was quick to grab her by one arm, spin her about, and then force her to her knees. With her properly restrained, Starscream swept in and attached something around her neck. Padlock had to strain to see what it was, but the red blinking light was not a good sign.

"Hey! What are you doing? What is that?"

Deathsaurus, still staunch in his form, turned about to face him. His blood red optics pierced deeply into Padlock's own, making the smaller green mech feel even more miniscule.

"You care for this femme?"

The question shocked Padlock, putting him in a daze.

"The ring around her neck is a powerful explosive. With but a simple command, it will detonate. I need not explain what would happen next, so I will ask again. Do you care for this femme?"

Padlock stared at him. It was a...and they had just...why would they...This wasn't happening! He wasn't actually standing there in a prison cell looking up at the most terrifying decepticon he had ever seen! It was all just one big, terrible dream!

"I'm getting tired of asking, little autobot!" Deathsaurus said, sounding genuinely annoyed. "Give me an answer now, or else I will detonate the device! Do you..."

"YES!" Padlock screamed as loud as his processor would allow. "Of course! For Primus' sake, I'll do anything you want! Just leave her alone, you big...jerk!"

He wanted to call him something worse. Something so much worse, but Primus help him he couldn't think of anything. Forutnately, Deathsaurus seemed to like his answer. He made a motion with his free hand, and Leozack shoved Quicksilver back into her cell, reactivating the door. She leapt at him, but she came up with nothing but an electric shock.

"Why are you doing this?" She demanded. "That map may be an antique, but I guarantee that even the Quintessons wouldn't give you a platinum dollar for it!

Deathsaurus looked her way, and a wicked gleam came into his optics.

"Oh, don't think me a fool, my child. I'm all too aware what this little trinket is, and, better yet, where it will lead me. The hour of my revenge is nigh, and your friend over there is going to help me claim it."

He shot a glance at Padlock.

"Provided, of course, he does truly care about you. Your life literally depends upon it."

With that, he took his leave with Starscream and Leozack following closely behind. Once again, the two of them were alone, and all was silent. In her cell, Quicksilver slowly sunk to her knees. She then buried her face in her hands, and she began to cry. Padlock, still trapped in his daze from before, could only stare at her. When had he ever seen Quicksilver cry? The happy go lucky femme was, if anything, a well spring of cheer and happiness. To see her so distraught, it seemed to tear at something inside of his spark.

The sight was enough to knock Padlock out of his funk, and he moved closer to the door of his cell so he could see her better. He knelt down so that they would be at eye level, and then he knocked against the ground to get her attention.

"QS?"

The femme sniffled some more, and then she looked up. She didn't meet Padlock's gaze, though, and she clutched her knees to her chin.

"This is all my fault." She whimpered.

"Hey, now!" Padlock said quickly. "There's no need for that! We all thought the decepticons were disbanded, and we were pretty isolated back on Rillick. We were just in the wrong place and at the wrong time is all."

"But I shouldn't have even been there!" Quicksilver insisted. "I was never supposed to be there. He must have known this was going to happen. That's why he tried to force me to stay."

Padlock cocked his head and stared at her.

"Eh, do you want to run that by me again?"

Quicksilver finally looked directly at him, and she sighed.

"Father Yoketron, the head abbot of the abbey where I was raised. You see, I had lived there every minute of my life. I had often asked, even begged him to let me venture out and see the world with my own optics. But, he had always refused, saying that I could not leave until Primus had divined the path he had set before me."

Padlock blinked at that. He had understood that the Path of Primus had some strict, and perhaps even convoluted, customs, but he couldn't help but feel that there was something sketchy about this.

"I had almost given up." Quicksilver carried on. "I had been searching for signs for all my life, anything that could get me out of that musty old abbey. Then, one day while I was dusting the archives with some of my abbey sisters, that map had quite literally fallen into my lap. The Knights of Cybertron had been one of my all-time favorite stories, so I was certain that this had been the sign I was waiting for. I can't even begin to describe just how excited I was to bring my find to Father Yoketron."

She paused for a moment.

"So you can imagine that I was equally discouraged when he all but snatched the map away and told me never to look upon it again."

And now Padlock was certain that he absolutely hated this creep.

"That probably would have been the end of it, too. I had never seen Father Yoketron so...so cross. I remember going into sleep mode in tears that night. However, it was that very night where it finally happened: I had a dream. I was standing on a hill that seemed to overlook the entire universe, daylight and the sun on my left and the moon and the night sky on my right. All was calm, peaceful and quiet. Then, there was a sound like a clap of thunder, and a terrible shadow began to sweep across creation. The stars fizzled out, the sun died, and the moon hid its face. All around me, everything was dying, but I didn't do anything. What could I do? It was the end of everything. But just as the last tinges of hope were about to take their final breath, a light pierced the darkness, and within I beheld a spectacular sight. A tall, proud warrior with a vorpal blade clutched in one hand and a towering shield in the other. There was no denying what I saw: it was a Knight of Cybertron, the first in what would surely be a new court."

Padlock watched as a dreamy look came to Quicksilver's optics, as though the memory brought her some sort of peace in their dire situation.

"It was so exciting, made even more so when I had to steal the map from Yoketron's office. I had long since learned that he was never going to let me leave, and with a dream like that I knew I couldn't stay any longer. So, I took the map, hotwired a ship, and then went barreling into space towards Cybertron."

Her grin then died, and she scoffed at herself.

"What a joke! I'm such an idiot!"

"No you're not!"

Quicksilver jumped, not expecting her smaller friend's sudden outburst. Padlock was now standing at his full height, and his blue optics were burning bright.

"You had every right to leave! It was an abbey, not a prison. That Yokel-tron,"

"Yoketron."

"I know what I said! I don't care how smart he claims to be, he doesn't have the right to hold you against your will. Besides, you said you had that prophecy dream thingy, which I guess is really important for people like you, so who did he think he was to keep you away from it?"

"He's the head abbot." Quicksilver replied, albeit a bit defensively. "What's more, look at what's happened. You heard what that big galoot said; he was looking for that map. What if that's why he attacked? What if another Cybertronian civil war breaks out because of this? Primus, Wing Dagger is probably dead because of me!"

"No he's not!" Padlock said suddenly. Quicksilver was genuinely starting to scare him, and he knew if she lost it then he wouldn't be far behind. That wasn't what they needed right now. "That shot he took for me wasn't as bad as it looked. When they were taking you away, Starscream blasted Ratchet with a null ray. Dag went to check on the old bot, and I went hunting after you, resulting in our capture. I guarantee-no, I promise you! -he's out there hunting for all of us with an entire armada of Autobot warships in tow to save us from these Decepti-creeps."

Padlock bent down, and he placed his hand on the threshold of his cell.

"Everything is going to be alright." He said softly. "You can count on it. Just take her easy for a little while longer."

Quicksilver stared at him for a long, tense moment. Then, she smiled at him, and it appeared that his lie had worked. She moved over to a corner of her cell, where she curled up and, within moments, was soundly resting in power down.

Padlock sighed and wiped the non-existant sweat from his brow. That had been rough, but he somehow managed to pull it off. Not feeling particularly tired, he stepped away from the door of his cell and over to a window. He looked out the window, out to the stars and the vast empty space surrounding him. Padlock had always been a bit of a loner, not one to get involved with things. Well, he certainly couldn't get more involved now. In spite of what he saw back on Optimus' ship, he really did hope that Wing Dagger had indeed survived, because, come Unicron or meteor showers, his friend would indeed come after them, and he would no doubt have the craziest scheme to break them all loose.

"Come on, Dag." He whispered quietly, almost in prayer. "I made a promise. Don't make a liar out of me. Not this time."

...

Back on Rillick, Ratchet was quietly putting away his tools and other forms of medical equipment. He had tried three times now to console Optimus in the other room, but the old Prime had resigned himself to wallow in self-pity. Ratchet had half a mind to whack some sense into him and get him off his duff, as he had done several times before in the past, but this time was different. The prime that had fought in the desert wasn't the same prime that had defeated Megatron the warlord. What's more, the many sparklings that had perished in the ensuing battle no doubt weighed heavily on the poor bot's soul. Better to just let him ride the motions out and wait for a better chance to revive his senses.

Suddenly, there was a crash, followed by loud shouting. Ratchet immediately dropped what he was doing, and he rushed in to see what the matter was. What he saw absolutely astounded him. It was Wing Dagger, very much alive and now scrambling about on the floor! Though momentarily stunned, Ratchet rushed over to the boy's sides and grabbed a hold of his arms, trying to hold him still.

"Kid, it's me! Settle down! You're safe!"

"PADLOCK! QUICKSILVER! PADLOCK! QUICKSILVER!"

The boy was rambling like a madman, and he had even started to foam at the mouth, much to Ratchet's surprise. After a while, the old medic's choices had dwindled to one option, and so he reared back a hand and swatted Wing Dagger. The result was immediate, and the red, white, and blue mech suddenly became still. He looked to the left, then right, and then he looked up at Ratchet.

"Hello, doctor." He said sheepishly.

Ratchet sighed with relief, and he helped Wing Dagger to his feet. Wing Dagger winced at the pain in his back, and he brought hand behind himself. He sighed as he ran a finger over the arc of the hole that now adorned his back.

"I almost don't want to know," he said, "but how bad is it?"

"Pretty fraggin' bad." Ratchet muttered. "Sorry that I haven't had the time to patch that up yet. I was slow to do much of anything since it wasn't clear if you were going to make it or not. I was even preparing a cryo chamber just to try and keep you functional to Cybertron."

He thumbed a finger to the said device that was leaning against a wall.

"You're lucky to be alive, Wing Ding."

"I can feel that." Wing Dagger grunted as he took a seat on the operating table. When he was comfortable, he cracked a wide grin and breathed a relieved sigh. "But, if you're here too, then the message must've gotten out, and we sent those Cons a'running. Where's Padlock and Quicksilver? Ol' Paddy is probably ready to ring my neck after scaring him half to death."

All of the sudden, the medical ward had gotten deathly silent. Wing Dagger studied Ratchet carefully, and he noticed that the old field medic was looking mournful. As though he had just attended the funeral of a dear friend. It made Wing Dagger uncomfortable.

"Doctor?" He dared to ask.

Ratchet looked up at him, and then he sighed.

"This isn't easy for me to say, so I'm just gonna lay it out flatly. Shortly after that creep with the lion gun blasted you to near kingdom come, he grabbed your femme friend and ran off with Starscream. Green bean went after them shortly, but I had to stay behind to tend to you. Shortly thereafter, the decepticons fled. I'm sorry, kid, but we scoured the entire grounds. They're gone. All of them."

His reaction was slow. It started with Wing Dagger's optics as they grew wide and bright. His mouth was sitting wide open, and his arms were limp at his sides as his processor tried so desperately to make sense of what could only be the beginnings of a very bad dream. At last, Wing Dagger found his words.

"But, we're going after them, right?" He asked, no begged. "Padlock's message had to have made it out. He's going to be a communications officer; it's his thing! Optimus is leading the charge right now, isn't he? He'll find them, bring them home and..."

"Optimus isn't going anywhere!" It was a bit blunt, but the boy was starting to sputter. Ratchet would be soft, but he would never mince words. "This is hard to admit, kid, but Optimus was in just as bad, if not worse shape than you were. He's taking the kidnappings, not to mention the numerous deaths of young bots, really hard and it's slowing his healing. Ironhide is making plans to deal with this new threat, but for now he's holding back."

"But they'll get away!" Wing Dagger bellowed, rocketing to his feet before nearly falling over. "Ion trails from interspace engines only last for so long. We lose that, and we'll never find them again! I'll hunt them down myself if I have to!"

"Like scrap you will!" Ratchet growled while grabbing Wing Dager by his shoulders and forcing him to sit. "Settle down! I know you're worried, but that's no reason to fly off the handle. Especially in your condition."

When Wing Dagger was calm again, Ratchet took a step back.

"I took a read of your file. You're pretty bold for a sparkling, and I don't doubt that claim of going after your friends. Courage is a valuable resource, lad, but courage without good sense is just recklessness, and that's what gets good people hurt for no reason. We'll find them, but you're gonna have to sit tight, heal, and let the grownups do our jobs."

Wing Dagger breathed in a long, heavy sigh, and he hung his head sadly.

"You're right, sir." He conceded. "It would be pretty crazy of me to go after a ship full of decepticons all by myself."

Ratchet managed a grin and he nodded.

"There you go, lad. Now you're talking sense."

He started to walk off, but he stopped short when Wing Dagger suddenly got up and gave the old bot a shove. Ratchet went stumbling forward and slammed face forward directly into the open cryo chamber. A moment later, Wing Dagger shut and locked the door, and, for good measure, switched on the freezing circuits. He then stood there a moment to watch the ice form on the little window and to meditate on the horrible deed he had just committed.

"Guess I really am that crazy." he muttered to himself. "He's going to be so mad when he gets out of there, but there's no time to dwell on that."

A couple of nights ago, after he, Padlock, and Quicksilver had come up with their scheme to leave, Wing Dagger had learned that there was a secret elevator in Prowl's office that led to his personal star ship, The Interceptor. It had taken some doing, but Wing Dagger knew where to find the elevator as well as the password needed to access it. Therefore, he made haste out of the infirmary and went streaking for the main office.

As he made his way through the maze of hallways, Wing Dagger couldn't help but feel a twinge of sadness. Outpost Rillick was far from a paradise, but it had been home to himself and several sparklings for a decent amount of time. Now, to see it littered with gaping holes, broken pieces of refuse, and even a couple of bodies lying around left the bot feeling somewhat hollow on the inside. He wondered to himself if this is what the war had been like for the autobots during the war. All of this death and destruction, and all seemingly for no reason; he didn't like it, and he hoped desperately that it wasn't an omen for things to come.

Finally, he reached Prowl's office. The shelves and filing cabinets were all in disarray, a sight that would have made even the staunch Ultra Magnus quiver, but fortunately Prowl's desk was still perfectly intact. Wing Dagger quickly swung around it and plopped down into the chair. He then reached underneath and pressed a hidden button. A computer monitor and keyboard flipped upwards, and a prompt appeared on the screen asking for a password.

"Death to the cons! Autobots roll out!" Wing Dagger said as he typed.

The screen then went blank, and there was a pop before Wing Dagger and the chair sunk into the floor. For what felt like hours, he descended into a secret section of the outpost, eventually coming out into a small hangar where the Interceptor was waiting. When the elevator stopped, Wing Dagger made a beeline for the ship, racing up the ramp and onto the bridge.

"Lucky thing I'm already a flier." He said to himself. "Otherwise this would be a very short trip."

He entered some commands into the ship's console, activating the runway catapult. The entire hanger began to groan and shake as the blast doors opened, and a ramp began to extend out of the hangar and into the sunshine. The starship's engines hummed to life, and a small countdown appeared on the console. The ship lurched a foot as the launcher for the catapult latched onto the hull, and Wing Dagger steeled himself for what was next. The countdown reached zero, and then the Interceptor was sent hurtling upon the ramp and out into open air. Wing Dagger mashed the accelerator forward, and before long he went racing through the atmosphere and into great void of outer space.

Now that he was far enough away from anyone of authority, Wing Dagger took a few precious moments to allow his rapidly fluxing spark to settle and to gather his thoughts. He wasn't kidding back there; this was, without question, the craziest thing he could be doing. Padlock was bound to give him an earful when he found him. If he found him, and if he and Quicksilver were still alive.

He quickly shook his head. Now wasn't the time for such negative thoughts. He had a job to do, and he was going to do it. With that in mind, he switched on the long-range scanners, and he set out into the void.

...

IThe time has come. He's on his way. /i

IAre we sure of this? He is still so young. /i

ISadly, there is no further time to delay. The shadow has started it's decent. /i

IThen let us prepare. Soon, very soon, we will be required to fulfill the task that has been handed down to us. The day of rebirth has at last arrived. /i


End file.
